Rendering courtesy of University of Maryland Shore Regional Health
Architectural rendering of UM Shore Regional Medical Center.
The Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) unanimously approved the University of Maryland (UM) Shore Regional Health's certificate of need application on Jan. 18, marking a significant step forward in bringing a new regional medical center in Easton to reality.
The approval came the day after Gov. Wes Moore released his fiscal year 2025 budget proposal with $100 million in funding for the hospital over four years.
The newly approved certificate of need authorizes UM Shore Regional Health to implement its medical center project with the approved spending outlined in its application, according to the Easton Star Democrat.
However, the newspaper noted that the application was approved with several conditions imposed by the commission. These ask the health system to provide patients with information, upon inquiry or as required by law, concerning an estimate of out-of-pocket charges prior to arriving for surgery and to provide detailed updates on its progress toward obtaining state funding.
If UM Shore Regional Health fails to secure the projected state funding by July 2027, the system must request a project change to amend its source of funding. The money in the governor's budget must be approved by the state legislature to clear that hurdle.
This is not the first application the hospital system has submitted to the MHCC, the Star Democrat reported. In 2012, one was filed for a similar project on the same site. Though that application was put on the docket, it was withdrawn in mid-2018 because the project had changed significantly after the docketing.
A second similar certificate of need application was filed in September 2018, but the MHCC's review was deferred at the health system's request, as noted on the 2023 certificate of need application submitted by UM Shore Regional Health.
Easton's New Hospital to Be Significant Upgrade
The estimated cost of the proposed Easton medical center project is $539.5 million.
According to Moira Lawson, the program manager for the MHCC's certificate of need division, improvements to the new Easton hospital include all private rooms (a change from the predominantly semi-private rooms in the current facility), heartbeat monitoring in all rooms, a dedicated 25-bed observation unit, three behavioral health holding rooms, and larger operating rooms.
When it is completed, the six-story, 325,000-sq.-ft. hospital will be made up of 147 beds and replace the existing facility located on Washington Street in Easton, the majority of which was built between 1955 and 1975, according to MHCC documents.
The new medical center is slated to occupy just over 235 acres off of Longwoods Road near U.S. Highway 50, about 3.5 mi. from the site of the older hospital.
Easton Mayor Megan Cook called the approval of UM Shore Regional Health's certificate of need "a significant step forward in our mission of getting a new, state-of-the-art, regional medical center in Easton."
"I'm grateful to Gov. Moore and his administration for their support in our journey in building a new facility that will serve our community for decades to come," she wrote in an email to the Star Democrat.
Cook also extended gratitude to UM Shore Regional Health President and CEO Ken Kozel and his team for their "tireless efforts" in moving the project forward.
"This has been a top priority for the residents of our town, and I know they'll be excited to hear this news," she said.
The town of Easton is ready to help support the planning and construction of the new hospital, Cook added.
New Facility Would Be Important to Eastern Shore Residents
Moore's capital budget proposes allocating $20 million in funding every year for the next three fiscal years and a $30 million allocation in fiscal year 2028.
The governor's funding for the regional medical center adds to the $10 million received in the state's fiscal year 2024 budget, which must be spent by the end of this June.
Kozel called the news an "incredible step forward," while thanking Moore, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, and the "dedicated" delegation to the Maryland General Assembly.
"This commitment from the Moore-Miller Administration and the state of Maryland reflects a remarkable pledge to the future of rural healthcare and to the people of the Eastern Shore of Maryland," Kozel said in a Jan. 18 news release. "Our patients and communities will benefit from this investment for generations, as will our team members who will have the opportunity to deliver world-class care in a modern facility."
State Sen. Johnny Mautz, R-37th District, which includes much of Maryland's Eastern Shore, said the funding was a step in the right direction.
In December 2022, former Gov. Larry Hogan earmarked $100 million for the project in his fiscal year 2024 budget recommendation announcement — a number that was not quite reached when last year's budgeting process was completed.
The hospital system began engaging with the Hogan administration in early to mid-2022 and originally asked for $100 million, according to Trena Williamson, the regional director of communications and marketing for UM Shore Regional Health. That work continued after Moore took office in January 2023.
"It isn't [the] $100 million that's being requested; however, it is a pledge, and I think it's a good faith effort on behalf of the administration to move the project," explained Mautz.
In December, hospital officials said they hoped to begin construction on the new UM Shore Regional Health medical center in Easton later this spring.
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