Howard County General Hospital is a 225-bed,
not-for-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
health care provider
A health care provider is an individual health professional or a health facility organization licensed to provide health care diagnosis and treatment services including medication, surgery and medical devices. Health care providers often recei ...
located in
Columbia, Maryland
Columbia is a census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, Howard County, Maryland. It is one of the principal communities of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. It is a planned community consisting of 10 self-contained villages ...
.
History
Prior to the construction of Howard County General, most emergency services were provided outside Howard County. In Baltimore and
Montgomery General Hospital opened in 1920. With the rapid increase in population anticipated from the
Rouse Company
The Rouse Company, founded by Hunter Moss and James W. Rouse in 1939, was a publicly held shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when General Growth Properties (GGP) purchased the company.
Beginnings - Moss-Rouse Company
...
development he approved, County Commissioner
Charles E. Miller attempted to redevelop his family's Historic Gray Rock farm in Ellicott City to build a 200-bed Lutheran Hospital and housing development. Despite multiple attempts, the zoning for the hospital was not approved as competition for the proposed Howard County General project. In addition, the State declined another 1973 proposal to build a 200-bed unit in Ellicott City by
Bon Secours for refusing to service abortions as a Catholic hospital.
Howard County General Hospital: A Member of Johns Hopkins Medicine is a not-for-profit health care provider with 225 licensed beds located in Columbia, Maryland. A comprehensive, acute-care medical center, Howard County General offers a full range of services specializing in women's and children's services, surgery, cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, gerontology, psychiatry, emergency services, and community health education.
The hospital has a professional staff of more than 950 physicians and allied health professionals, representing nearly 100 specialties and subspecialties; a workforce of more than 1,900 individuals and more than 300 volunteers.
In 2009, the hospital opened a $105 million, four-story, five-level patient pavilion with three
inpatient
A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health c ...
floors as well as the Bolduc Family Outpatient Center. In 2014, the Health Care and Surgery Center Building was renamed to the Dr. Sanford A. Berman and Dr. Kay Ota-Berman Pavilion after a $5 million donation.
The hospital is situated on a prehistoric Native American settlement later settled as farmland. Benjamin F. Bassler exchanged of his fathers family farm and airfield to
The Rouse Company
The Rouse Company, founded by Hunter Moss and James W. Rouse in 1939, was a publicly held shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when General Growth Properties (GGP) purchased the company.
Beginnings - Moss-Rouse Company
T ...
in exchange for a farm to create
Haysfield Airport. A hospital was proposed for the development as two others sought State and County approval. The 59 bed ''Columbia Hospital and Clinic Foundations Center'' was opened on July 9, 1973 serving members of the Columbia Medical Plan only. The Columbia Medical Plan was an early
HMO
In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded heal ...
created by the Rouse Corporation in conjunction with Columbia's chief backer and financier
Connecticut General Life Insurance and Johns Hopkins, which initially discouraged private practices that would form competition. The hospital was an early adopter, integrating psychiatric admissions with regular admissions. After a year of operations, the facility was opened to residents outside the Columbia Medical Plan, with the new name Howard County General Hospital. Within the first three years, the hospital was rated the second most expensive in the state and faced budget cuts after cost overruns and unpaid debt.
References
External links
Howard County General HospitalJohns Hopkins Medicine
{{authority control
Hospital buildings completed in 1973
Hospitals in Maryland
Buildings and structures in Columbia, Maryland
Affiliates of Johns Hopkins Hospital