D.C.’s public hospital to get new operator

Washington, D.C.’s publicly owned hospital will likely get a new operator after city leaders cut ties with the firm currently in that role.

The governing board that oversees United Medical Center, a division within D.C.’s government, recently voted to move forward in a management relationship with New York-based accounting firm Mazars USA. The value of the contract was not disclosed. The D.C. mayor’s office will need to approve a contract before it’s official. The City Council voted against renewing a management and operations contract with Veritas of Washington. Nonetheless, Veritas will stay on as the hospital’s operator for 60 days to allow for a smooth transition.

Veritas received about $800,000 per month for its work, said Wayne Turnage, director of healthcare finance for the D.C. government and a UMC board member and head of its finance committee. UMC has been in financial distress for years, and more recently has worked to recover after two widely publicized patient deaths. Under current conditions, including falling admissions and a high proportion of Medicare and Medicaid patients, the facility is expected to operate at an annual loss of $25 million, said David Umansky, a spokesman for D.C.’s office of the chief financial officer. The City Council approved a $7 million grant for the hospital in December so it could continue to operate.

UMC CEO Luis Hernandez attributed much of the hospital’s financial struggles to the fact that many decisions are in the hands of the city, not hospital administrators. On a day-to-day basis, he said hospital administration doesn’t know what’s happening on the budget side.