The Maryland Health Care Commission voted unanimously to approve plans for a proposed regional medical center in Prince George’s County, the final step in a prolonged regulatory process that began more than three years ago.
Commissioner Robert E. Moffit, who was assigned to review the proposal and this spring ordered officials to cut some costs, said the board had never seen a project as large or that involved as much taxpayer money.
The commission’s role is “to restrain excess capacity,” Moffit said, and to ensure the project is financially viable.
“I concluded . . . that there was a clear and compelling need for a replacement hospital in Prince George’s County,” Moffit said, “and its proposed location in Largo is an excellent choice.”
The $543 million project is a joint venture of Dimensions Healthcare Systems, which has run hospitals in Prince George’s for more than three decades, and the University of Maryland Medical System. More than $400 million in public funds will go to construction and hospital operations.
A ceremonial groundbreaking will likely take place next spring or early summer, officials said. The projected opening date for the new hospital is 2020.
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