City Responds to Recommended Decision to Allow Move of Washington Adventist Hospital
On December 2, 2015, the City of Takoma Park and two area hospitals filed their “exceptions” to the Maryland Health Care Commissioner Frances P. Phillips’s recommendation (with conditions) that Washington Adventist Hospital be allowed to move most of its operations out of Takoma Park.
Information on the Commissioner’s Recommended Decision can be found here.
The Takoma Park Exceptions Submission from the City of Takoma Park expresses its appreciation of the first recommended condition, which is to have the hospital open an urgent care center on the Takoma Park campus coinciding with the closure of the acute care hospital, and requiring that the center must be open every day of the year, 24 hours a day. The City’s submission expresses concern about the loss of emergency services at the Takoma Park campus, and urges consideration of a Freestanding Medical Facility (stand-alone emergency department) as a way to ensure that needed health services remain in Takoma Park.
Holy Cross Hospital and MedStar Montgomery General Hospital each also filed exceptions to the Commissioner’s Recommended Decision. The document filed by Holy Cross Hospital also encourages approving a Freestanding Medical Facility for the Takoma Park campus. Links to the filed exceptions documents:
Responses to the exceptions submissions are due by 4:30 PM on December 10. An Exceptions Hearing before the Maryland Health Care Commission will take place at 1 pm on December 17. The City of Takoma Park will ask to speak at the Exceptions Hearing. After the hearing, the full Maryland Health Care Commission is expected to take final action on the Certificate of Need request by Washington Adventist Hospital.
For more information, contact:
Suzanne Ludlow
City Manager
Email: SuzanneL@takomaparkmd.gov
Phone: 301-891-7229
