The Price of a County Bailout
Those interested in the future of health care in Prince George's may now be wondering: Just who is Corbett Price?
His name came up on Friday, when County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) and Council Chairwoman Camille Exum (D-Seat Pleasant) offered to give the non-profit company that runs Prince George's Hospital Center the $5 million it needs to stay open, but only on certain conditions. One condition was that Mr. Price, of Mantium Corporation, be given immediate access to all financial records and facilities of Dimensions Healthcare System, which runs the hospital.
Dimensions' board of directors tabled a decision on the conditions at the request of state officials. But in the meantime, the union the represents nurses and other hospital employees immediately howled in protest about Price.
Why? Because he has several decades of history of tangling with hospital workers around the country.
In 1985, for instance, Price was an executive at the for-profit hospital chain HCA when that group briefly took over at the Prince George's hospital. He helped lay off 615 employees.
More recently, he clashed with employees at two hospitals in New York that he helped steer through bankruptcy. Questions about Price's leadership there were raised in several articles in Newsday, some of them written by Jerry Markon, who is now a Washington Post reporter.
The articles noted that Price led two large hospitals at the same time, while also running a private consulting company. At one point in time, he was earning $500,000 a year from one Brooklyn hospital while also being paid $450 an hour at another hospital system whose bankruptcy he was supervising.
Union officials note the bankruptcy and that he arranged for the sale of a major hospital to get the system money. They fear he will solve financial problems in Prince George's the same way.
"We hope that he's going to be [at Dimensions] to make the hospital viable and not just make it ready to go away," said Quincey Gamble, political director for the union that represents Prince George's hospital workers. "His methods are slash and burn."
Other Newsday articles suggest that Price had many supporters, who credited him with successfully steering the two New York hospital systems financial struggles, leaving them healthier than when he found them.
According to Johnson, Price was the choice of the county council. He said bringing him in to consult was part of a compromise between himself and council members. Johnson praised his experience in hospital management. Exum did not return calls for comment.
Price held a $34,500 contract to consult the county on the hospital from March 28 to June 28, said a county spokesman. He does not, at the moment, hold a contract. Calls to Price at the Chevy Chase office of his consulting company Mantium have so far not been returned.
By Rosalind Helderman |
January 29, 2007; 1:23 PM ET
Prince George's
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Posted by: Ex-Dimensions | January 29, 2007 01:55 PM
Sounds like Price is just what we need.
Posted by: criss | January 29, 2007 04:51 PM
It is embarassing that the wealthiest African American county in the US has tolerated the ongoing crisis at Dimensions. Many of the problems could have be solved years ago with a strong forward looking leadership that put the patient first. Dimensions issues aren't just financial. It lacks the will to make quality and safety the cornerstones of its compact with the community. If you chase money you won't have any. If you chase the patient you will have money. The current managment--Ecker allowed for the lay off the quality, risk and compliance leadership--what does that say about his focus. No one spoke up, so what does that say about our focus. I think U of Md is a great choice, but no one should be forced to take an ailing system that hasn't had the will to try to right itself. Close Dimensions and start over if the services are needed in that community. The continued low morale is a threat to the community and to patient safety.
Posted by: iwastheretoo | January 30, 2007 12:19 PM
On 02-19-07, alone, among the numerous blogs on this site, County Connections and Richmond Report are the only blogs with no WaPo sourced content posted in February 2007. What's up? Are you out of biz? If so, say so, and I'll go elsewhere.
Given that the Annapolis and Richmond legislatures are currently in session, this DEFICIENCY seems particularly egregious. Hard to imagine zero has occurred in Annapolis affecting AA/ Moco/PG/ Howard/Frederick politics that merits comment. Likewise in VA. What will you do when legislatures are not in session?
Allow me to jumpstart your batteries. What's the skinny on Victor Ramirez' decision to pull his Charter Amendment bill in PG this year, while vowing to reintroduce it next year? WHY does Victor want to TRY TO ram this measure down our throats? He had no support this year. Why might he expect that to change next year?
WaPo should analyze how many Charter Amendment questions have been on the PG ballot since the Charter was adopted in 1970, and see if Victor has any basis for his claim that there have been too many Charter amendment questions on the ballot, resulting in confused voters. If WaPo won't do it, I'll shame you. But maybe the voters are not as smart as Victor.
Posted by: Count Bobulescu | February 19, 2007 12:25 AM
Hey Count Bobulescu, It's bad enough the Post publishes such inflammatory stories designed to stir controversy not debate - why must you throw down empty, nonsensical challenges? Who cares if you go elsewhere?
Posted by: Prince Charming | February 21, 2007 09:00 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
One thing is for sure - Dimensions Healthcare must go. I am tired of the "January Surprise" - announcing each year that they must be bailed-out or they will close. That is not the way to run a hospital or treat the taxpayer.
Also at fault is Jack Johnson. Like every other crisis in our county, he buries his head in the sand and hopes it goes away. At least Dimensions is able to pull Jack's head out of his ... We can't get rid of him, and he has proved he can't solve a crisis - so our only recourse is state takeover.
I support Delegate Ramirez' bill to turn the Hospital over to the University of Maryland system. It's ends this annual brinkmanship. The other delegate's bill to setup a county-based taxing authority to provide Dimensions' debt relief and provides no long-tern remedies.