University of Maryland Medical Center's $350M hospital project on

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Aug 28, 2008 by Andy Rosen

Construction crews continued to work on the site for the proposed outpatient center at the University of Maryland Medical Center Wednesday more than a week after hospital officials told the state they would not complete the project.

University of Maryland Medical System officials did not respond to repeated requests for comment Wednesday, but told the Maryland Health Care Commission Aug. 18 that it would no longer pursue the $350 million Ambulatory Care Center. The eight-story building had been proposed as a way to consolidate outpatient care services that are now scattered across 13 buildings within the West Side medical campus.

The Health Care Commission, which oversees hospital construction in the state, has asked the system for more information, including how much has been spent on the project and what has been done so far. The original budget for the project included $125 million in state money, but the system said at that time that Maryland had only committed $50 million.

"They initiated the project, and then in the last few weeks they came in and met with us and said that their plans had changed," said Paul Parker, chief of the Certificate of Need program at the commission, which regulates hospital projects.

Parker said the commission does not have much more information about the decision, other than the fact that the system intends to stop the project upon completion of a three-story, underground garage. It was unclear Wednesday what the future holds for the nearly block-sized chunk of land that the medical system began developing after it was cleared to build the project nearly two years ago. Lawmakers who represent the district where the project was planned said they were in the dark about the change.

The system relinquished its certificate in its letter to the commission last week, but that letter says officials began discussing a change in plans with the commission June 25. Parker said he never saw any formal update that showed the project was in jeopardy, though rumors are normal.

Sen. Verna Jones, D-Baltimore City, sits on the Budget and Taxation Committee and said she should have been made aware that such a change was under consideration. She said she has worked hard to get money for the system, and wants to be kept in the loop.

"I am shocked, especially because money has already been spent on the project in the district," Jones said. "If they don't tell me what's going on, I have a problem with that."

Del. Ruth M. Kirk, D-Baltimore City, whose district also includes the medical center, said she had recent discussions with system officials and had not heard about any changes to the project

The medical system saw its board of directors shaken up last week after Chairman John Erickson and nine other members resigned at an Aug. 20 board meeting in Baltimore. Maryland House Speaker Michael E. Busch, D-Anne Arundel, is chairman of the 27-member board until the system gets a permanent replacement, and was a member before Erickson resigned.

Alexandra Hughes, spokeswoman for Busch, said he was unavailable for comment. She referred questions on the decision to system officials.

In a statement after his resignation, Erickson said he had been considering the move for several months. He did not mention the change at the ambulatory center.

Parker, of the commission, said the project was operating within the time frame set in its approval, but noted that may not have been the same as the hospital's plans. He said the system had demonstrated a need for the project, but he did not see an urgent problem for the state's hospital infrastructure if it is not built

"The need for this project is more of an institutional need that they identified," he said, but noted that it is a worthwhile project that should eventually be pursued.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.