The University of Maryland Medical System started planning a $350 million ambulatory care center in Baltimore more than two years ago to treat patients on an outpatient basis, but disputes and infighting at the organization have helped to stymie the project.
A parking lot has been erected at the site but nothing else.
That kind of gridlock among leadership of the medical system is one of the factors that led to the resignation this week of one-third of its board - including the chairman and vice chairman. The system, which oversees hospitals in Baltimore and throughout the state, has been beset by a number of competing agendas that have not only stalled progress but left a wake of distrust, current and former board members said.
Doctors had become frustrated with what they felt was a more bottom-line approach at the not-for-profit medical system. A power struggle had led to sour feelings on the board, where former Chairman John C. Erickson said the university was asserting its interests over other stakeholders. And recently, Gov. Martin O'Malley intervened by making a number of appointments to the board without its input, prompting accusations of political interference.
The result was a very public airing of the disputes at the normally staid and secretive medical system. At stake is the stability of a $2 billion-a-year enterprise that not only provides care through a network of hospitals and medical centers but also trains most of the doctors that set up practice in Maryland and undertakes ground-breaking research, including cancer studies done by Dr. Kevin J. Cullen, who is highly regarded in his field.
"The medical system and university are losers in this battle in the sense that it's going to take a long time to get everyone back together," said Dr. Stephen Schimpff, the retired chief executive officer of the University of Maryland Medical Center, who had written to the board this month urging cohesion. "But they've got people in place now to see that that happens."
While directors on the reconstituted board say they want to leave the rancor in the past, they face the daunting task of trying to patch together relations between the disparate and powerful stakeholders - from the doctors and a network of community hospitals to the State House, which during the past five years has provided about $350 million in funding. At the same time, the system must attract permanent leaders.
