$45 million bailout OK'd for Md. public hospital

The county council for Prince George's County, Md., approved a $45 million bailout package for 310-bed Prince George's Hospital Center, a day before the state-set deadline. The new deal gives the council access to all financial information involving the hospital as well as the right to name one member of a seven-member oversight panel created to monitor the hospital's operations. The county executive and state each will name three members to the panel. Saying it had not had enough input, the council opposed an earlier agreement by County Executive Jack Johnson and Gov. Robert Erhlich under which the council would not have appointed any members to the oversight panel. As under the previous agreement, Dimensions Healthcare Systems, which runs the hospital, will receive $30 million from the county over a five-year period. State regulators also will clear the way for a $5 million capital improvement bond and approve a 3% rate increase for the hospital, worth about $10 million annually. -- by Tony Fong