JUN 8, 4:13 PM

Long-Awaited New Hospital Opens In Prince George’s County

PART OF FULL COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN D.C.
Dominique Maria Bonessi https://twitter.com/dbonessi



Prince George’s County officials hopes the hospital will transform health care in the county.

Credit: UM Capital Region Health

The University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center has opened its doors, ushering in what advocates hope will be improvements to Prince George’s County’s health care landscape after years of waiting. ... The 629,000 square-foot facility located near the Largo Town Center Metro station is replacing the 75-year-old Prince George’s County Hospital Center in Cheverly. It was supposed to open in 2017, but faced challenges getting regulatory approvals.

“What a moment this is,” said County Executive Angela Alsobrooks at a ribbon-cutting on Tuesday. “When we think about this building, it’s so much more than just a building. I think back on this pandemic… when we couldn’t come into this building because it was too dangerous to do so, we had to rely on the men and women in these buildings to stand by our family members who were suffering, some who died, and we couldn’t be there with them, but they could.”

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The medical center project was initially supposed to cost $532 million and have 235 licensed beds, but a state health care commission approved 205 beds — fewer than the Cheverly hospital — at a price of approximately $400 million in county and state funds.

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The center is part of the larger University of Maryland Medical System, a network of 13 hospitals. It contains floors for children, cardiovascular care, a trauma center, and a neonatal intensive care unit.

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