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MedStar Saint Mary's says hospital is 'sized appropriately' and highlights new services, recruitment and infrastructure plans
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Summary
MedStar Saint Mary's Hospital leaders told county commissioners their Leonardtown campus offers expanded services — including interventional radiology, oncology infusion and obstetrics — that attracted 1,200 deliveries last year; the hospital said decisions about increasing licensed bed counts fall to state regulators.
MedStar Saint Mary's Hospital leaders briefed the St. Mary's County Commissioners on services, recent investments and workforce initiatives, saying local care has expanded while the hospital continues to manage throughput and capacity pressures.
"Our current hospital and emergency department are sized appropriately to care for the community that we serve," Dr. Mimi Novello, president of MedStar Saint Mary's Hospital, told commissioners during the presentation. She described a range of services available locally — a full intensive care unit, behavioral health inpatient and outpatient services, a family birthing center, interventional radiology and oncology infusion — and said the hospital recorded about 1,200 deliveries last year.
Novello detailed investments in imaging, an upcoming MRI replacement and interventional-lab upgrades, and highlighted the hospital's Magnet designation and repeated high safety ratings from Leapfrog as markers that support recruitment and retention. She also described workforce-development programs such as MedStar Academy, nurse residency accreditation and local partnerships with the College of Southern Maryland to expand the pipeline of nurses and allied professionals.
On overcrowding and emergency-department waits, Novello said 'boarding' — patients awaiting inpatient beds while remaining in the ED — is not unique to St. Mary's and reflects larger system constraints. "Throughput in a hospital is something that is not just related to the emergency department or to the functions of the hospital," she said, pointing to post‑acute capacity and statewide licensing rules that govern bed counts.
Why it matters: hospital capacity and ED wait times are frequent topics of public concern. County leaders pressed MedStar on staffing and capacity; the hospital emphasized local investments and the role of state regulators in expanding licensed bed capacity.
What comes next: Commissioners thanked hospital leadership and indicated an interest in periodic updates. MedStar officials offered to return for future briefings.
