Officials from local hospital systems and community representatives discussed clinical services, recent investments and public quality ratings during a meeting of the Holistic Sustainable Solutions for Senior Citizens Task Force.

Dr. Dia Boltman, a family physician and the family medicine residency program director at University of Maryland Capital Region Health, told the task force about where county seniors receive care and the hospital’s outreach to nursing homes and assisted‑living facilities. "About 90 percent of adults that are 65 would prefer to age in their home place," she said, and she described efforts to expand home‑based supports, outpatient specialty clinics and relationships with long‑term care providers.

The task force convened to gather information for recommendations on seniors’ services; the hospital presentations were aimed at explaining available services and gaps. Members raised concerns about third‑party quality ratings such as LeapFrog and CMS star ratings and pressed the hospitals on recruitment and investment.

Why it matters: Seniors’ access to primary, specialty and post‑acute care affects where families seek treatment and how quickly hospitals can discharge patients to lower‑acuity settings. Task force members linked quality, workforce and local land‑use rules as drivers of long‑term improvement.

What the hospitals said: Dr. Boltman listed primary‑care locations (Largo, Laurel, National Harbor and New Carrollton) and said the health system is expanding specialty coverage at an outpatient Center for Advanced Medicine adjacent to the hospital. She described routine resident physician visits to long‑term care communities and said the hospital offers inpatient and outpatient services including an infusion center and a sickle‑cell center. "We now have the option for these specialists and subspecialists to rotate at our Center for advanced medicine," she said.

Brad Seaman, identified in the meeting as vice president of government affairs (as presented to the task force), said the hospital system has been pursuing an organizational overhaul and a high‑reliability program. "At the time that we relocated from Chevrolet to our new campus in Largo, we were actually a 1 star rated hospital ... In the last few years ... we've actually moved to a 3 star rated," Seaman said, describing a change in CMS/HCAHPS‑based measures and ongoing efforts to improve further.

Dr. Chile, vice president at MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital, said some outcome measures already show better performance than public ratings indicate because public metrics lag changes. "Out of the 17 key quality indicators ... 10, 11 of them are in the top quartile or above in the country currently," he said, adding that many improvements will not appear in LeapFrog and other public ratings for another review cycle.

Community concerns and requests: Jacqueline Grissett, a task force member representing the Queen Anne community, cited recent LeapFrog grades and asked why hospitals serving primarily Prince George's County residents often receive lower ratings than facilities elsewhere. "There's a color line here," she said, urging transparency and stronger community oversight. Grissett and others urged hospitals to establish or expand citizen advisory councils; hospital representatives confirmed campus advisory councils exist and invited interested residents to join.

Land use and economic development: Council member Harrison (as referenced in the meeting) and other task force members linked hospital improvement to county land‑use, zoning and development incentives. Harrison urged using large, underused parcels (for example, former malls) to create medical innovation hubs that could attract investment, specialty services and workforce housing.

Investments and new services: Speakers said the systems have recruited specialists, added high‑acuity services and invested in facilities. Seaman said the system recruited "well over 50 new physicians, specialists, and primary care physicians" after joining the University of Maryland Medical System and listed new procedures done locally, including the first thrombectomy and transcatheter aortic valve repair in the county. MedStar’s representative said MedStar has invested more than $200,000,000 in upgrades since acquisition of Southern Maryland Hospital.

No formal decisions: The panel session was informational. Task force members asked for follow‑up information, and hospital representatives offered to provide contact information and invite community participation on advisory councils.

Ending: The task force chair thanked the presenters and said the hospitals would receive follow‑up from the committee on specific recommendations about land use and community engagement.