La Plata, MD – United State Senator Ben Cardin came to University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center in La Plata, Monday, July 27, “to listen how things are going and what your challenges are all about.”
Cardin said that in a rare Sunday session, his Republican adversaries were at it again.
“For the 15th or 16th time, they attempted to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act,” he said. “This issue is now resolved.
“That’s not to say the Affordable Health Care Act is end all to be all,” Cardin added, “but we can celebrate the fact that we now have the lowest uninsured rate in our nation’s history. And we have eliminated the discriminatory practices of the health care industry.
“We have changed the focus from quantity to quality,” he added. “Our challenge is how do we keep the quality up and keep quantity at a reasonable level. We were able to keep admission costs down and saved billions of dollars.”
While he admitted that it was very unlikely the federal government is going to put any money in the health care system, he said the focus will instead be on delivery system reform.
“We’re going to figure out how to do things more cost effectively,” he said.
Cardin said an area of interest to him lies in mental health services.
“We don’t provide care to those folks in an efficient way in this country,” he stressed. “In primary care, you are rewarded for having a mental health specialist. In emergency rooms, we’re trying to figure out a way to treat people in their own community as opposed to institutionalizing them. Our federal partners are interested in how do we move forward,” he added.
Emergency Director Rich Ferrano told Cardin there are two serious issues the hospital is struggling with at this time–opiate addiction and mental health. Mental health patients often have nowhere to turn, he said.
“Any patient that needs to be admitted has to go outside of Charles County,” Ferrano explained. “It creates a dangerous situation in the emergency department and in the community. That’s a huge issue.
“The opiate addiction is partially created by the medical community,” he stressed. “The majority is from prescription medication use. We are looking for some legislation to help us with those two issues.”
“The addiction issue is statewide and nationwide,” Cardin agreed. “It’s a national crisis.”
“The state’s attorney’s office has come to realize folks who are non-violent who are involved in opiates, it’s a health issue, not necessarily a law enforcement issue,” said Charles County State’s Attorney Tony Covington. “If you look at the mental health side of it, it’s really the same thing.
“We can’t deal with the mental health issue as well as we should if the resources aren’t there,” he said.
“We need to provide the resources people desperately need,” Cardin said. “It’s the same with health care, coordinated care. What we have to do is find a way to connect the dots. We have to eliminate prison sentences for a lot of these crimes. We have to have more sensible criminal justice standards and look at people with addiction problems and try to help them without locking them up for the rest of their lives.”
Noel Cervino, UM Charles Regional Medical Center president and CEO, told the senator that the hospital is doing well.
“We are thriving at this point,” he said. “Our profit margins are generally at the top of range in the state.
He said the hospital became a full-fledged member of the University of Maryland medical system in 2011 and said more than $33 million in savings is expected over the next five years. He also noted that an urgent care center will be opening in La Plata soon.
“Ten years ago this hospital’s future was in doubt,” said Charles County Commissioner Vice President Ken Robinson. “It’s remarkable how far we’ve come.”
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com