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April 13, 2018

$50 Million Investment to Bring New State-of-the-Art Medical Center to Laurel, Offering 24/7 Emergency Care, Surgery Center, and Comprehensive Range of Services to Meet Community Health Needs

Representing a significant step in a body of work that began more than two years ago, today the University of Maryland Laurel Regional Hospital filed documents with the Maryland Health Care Commission seeking approval to transform and enhance the health care services offered in Laurel. The filing, called a Request for Certificate of Need Exemption, lays out plans to transform the aging hospital into a new state-of-the-art health care destination offering services including but not limited to emergency care 24/7, short-stay overnight care, outpatient surgery and enhanced outpatient behavioral health programs and services.

The multi-phase planning process for what is proposed to be the new UM Laurel Medical Center and its surrounding campus began in July 2016 when the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), Laurel Mayor Craig Moe and other community leaders launched a Strategic Planning Work Group (SPWG) to address the future of health care in Laurel. The collaborative process resulted in a set of recommendations regarding the transformation and modernization of Laurel Regional Hospital. The co-chairs established seven subcommittees to focus on issues key to a successful campus transition:

  • Behavioral Health
  • Campus Development
  • Clinical Operations
  • Emergency Medicine/EMS
  • On-Campus Services
  • Volunteer Services
  • Workforce Development

The membership of both the Executive Committee and subcommittees included state and local elected representatives, business leaders, first responders, health care providers, hospital administrators, Laurel Regional Hospital employees and volunteers, union representatives, K-12 and higher education leaders, and members of the community at-large.

"While the journey has not been without its challenges, I am confident about and excited by the plans for health care in Laurel," says Mayor Craig A. Moe. "We have had the right voices, expertise and input from many contributors to bring us to this juncture, and I believe that our citizens will have a health care facility and campus that they can be proud of and that will meet the most pressing medical needs they, their families and neighbors face every day."

Following the formal affiliation of UMMS and the new University of Maryland Capital Region Health (formerly Dimensions) in September of last year, a second phase of planning for the new Medical Center and surrounding medical campus was initiated. Phase II transition work has included planning, sizing and design of the new state-of-the-art facility that will house a 24/7 emergency department and serve as the anchor for the larger medical campus. Meetings with various stakeholders including emergency room personnel, EMS personnel and law enforcement have informed the design of the facility.

A community engagement team has been formed to keep patients, Laurel-area residents, elected leaders, and other stakeholders informed regarding transition planning and to solicit their feedback. In addition, market research, ongoing community needs assessments and feasibility analyses are helping to refine the list of services to be provided in the new anchor facility and on the surrounding medical campus. Other campus development plans include expansion of outpatient programs such as chronic disease management and wellness promotion in collaboration with UMMS and its partners from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Proposed services, pending regulatory approval, for the new UM Laurel Medical Center include:

  • 24/7 Emergency Department
  • Short stay overnight care
  • Outpatient surgery
  • Enhanced outpatient behavioral health programs and services
  • Pharmacy
  • Lab
  • Imaging

Current campus programs that will remain include:

  • Primary care
  • Women's Health
  • Lung Health program
  • Wound Care Center
  • Chronic Pain Management

Upon regulatory approval of the conversion of the hospital, this new model of care will allow the medical system to invest more in services that keep residents healthy in their community and avoid unnecessary inpatient admissions and emergency room visits. This model also allows for expansion of ongoing services including ambulatory surgical care and intensive outpatient treatment for patients with behavioral health needs, with a goal of reducing the need for hospitalizations. The current building will house the approved services until the construction of the new facility is complete.

Current traditional inpatient medical/surgical units and behavioral health services will be provided primarily at UM Prince George's Hospital Center. Regulators have already approved the move of the existing chronic care and inpatient rehabilitation units at UM Laurel Regional Hospital to UM Prince George's Hospital Center. The relocation of these units is projected to occur by fall 2018.

"We are excited to reach this milestone in this project," says Stephen T. Bartlett, MD, the Peter Angelos Distinguished Professor in Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, University of Maryland Medical System. "We are one step closer to a modern facility with enhancements that will allow us to continue to meet the needs of the communities we serve now and in the future with the level and quality and expertise the residents of this vibrant community deserve to have."

The new facility alone will represent a $50 million UMMS investment in the Laurel community and will be located on the southwestern portion of the existing UM LRH campus at the intersection of Van Dusen and Contee roads. Subject to regulatory approval, construction of the new UM Laurel Medical Center is expected to be completed in spring 2021. Significant private sector investment is also anticipated as the surrounding medical campus is developed.

Almost three years ago, in the context of a rapidly shifting health care environment, the members of the Dimensions Health System (DHS) board made the difficult decision to transform Laurel Regional Hospital from an acute care inpatient facility to an ambulatory site designed to be responsive to the needs of Laurel and the surrounding community.

"I offer my thanks to the Laurel Strategic Planning Work Group for their dedication; these plans represent their vision and dedication to the people of this region and a commitment to meet their needs in an evolving healthcare environment." said Bradford Seamon, Chairman of the Board of Directors of University of Maryland Capital Region Health. "I also express my appreciation to Former Board Chair The Hon. C. Philip Nichols and the Dimensions board for the difficult task they took on to initiate necessary changes to Laurel Regional Hospital for a viable future."

For more information on the project and renderings of the new facility, visit https://umcapitalregion.org/um-capital-laurel.

A public meeting regarding the transition of the current UM Laurel Regional Hospital will take place on May 7, 2018 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Laurel-Beltsville Senior Activity Center.

About University of Maryland Capital Region Health

Providing primary and specialty health care services to Prince George's County and the neighboring area, University of Maryland Capital Region Health was established in September 2017 upon the formal affiliation of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) and the former Dimensions Healthcare System. University of Maryland Capital Region Health operates the University of Maryland Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly, University of Maryland Laurel Regional Hospital, University of Maryland Bowie Health Campus, and the University of Maryland Family Health & Wellness Center in Suitland. University of Maryland School of Medicine (SOM) faculty direct several University of Maryland Capital Region Health clinical programs, including anesthesiology, critical care, emergency medicine, neonatology, orthopaedics and vascular surgery, and the State's second-busiest Trauma Center. University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty also lead the highly-regarded cardiac surgery program at UM Prince George's Hospital Center. A new state-of-the-art regional medical center is expected to open in Largo in 2021. For more information, visit http://www.umcapitalregion.org/

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is a university-based regional health care system focused on serving the health care needs of Maryland, bringing innovation, discovery and research to the care we provide and educating the state's future physician and health care professionals through our partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the UM Schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work and Dentistry in Baltimore. As one of the largest private employers in the State, the health system's 25,000 employees and 4,000 affiliated physicians provide primary and specialty care in more than 150 locations and at 14 hospitals. UMMS' flagship academic campus, the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, is recognized regionally and nationally for excellence and innovation in specialized care. Our acute care and specialty rehabilitation hospitals serve urban, suburban and rural communities and are located in 13 counties across the State. In addition, UMMS operates health insurance plans serving Medicare and Medicaid members. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

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