SPIRO T. AGNEW, Governor                      1625

No. 54

(House Joint Resolution 80)

House Joint Resolution requesting the establishment of a Commis-
sion to study Baltimore City Hospitals and its program, financing
and development in relation to State programs for the provision
of medical services and training.

Whereas, Baltimore City Hospitals is a complex consisting of
several medical institutions including a general hospital, a hospital
for the treatment of chronic diseases, a tuberculosis hospital, a nurs-
ing home, a gerontological institution, a facility utilized for the train-
ing of physicians, nurses and other medical specialities; and

Whereas, Baltimore City Hospitals has had a long and dis-
tinguished history of over one hundred years of service, stemming
from the period when its services were primarily local, but certain
functions of Baltimore City Hospitals are now in effect integral
parts of the State's medical program, e.g. the tuberculosis hospital,
the chronic disease hospital, etc., and other parts of the hospital
have varying relationships with State-administered and State-
financed programs, such as inpatient and outpatient medical care
programs; and

Whereas, recent major changes in Federal and State financial
arrangements in the field of health including hospital care and out-
patient services have raised serious question as to the financial sup-
port which Baltimore City Hospitals should or can expect in the
Statewide hospital program. To illustrate, the State of Maryland
recently entered into a contract to reimburse Baltimore City Hos-
pitals for the cost of tubercular care rendered by the latter, but in
the 1968 fiscal year, without prior notice, the reimbursement to
City Hospitals was limited to a maximum of 150 tubercular patients;
and in the 1969 fiscal year budget, it is proposed to limit Baltimore
City Hospitals to a total of 90 tubercular patients although there
are at present over 190 such eligible patients occupying beds in City
Hospitals; and

Whereas, Baltimore City Hospitals has developed into a fine med-
ical institution capable of rendering unique and valuable services
to the population of the area of which Baltimore City is the hub;
and an increasing number and proportion of Baltimore City Hos-
pitals patients are not residents of the City of Baltimore but have
been brought there because of emergency or because of the special
services the hospital is prepared to render in particular areas of
medicine; and many other patients outside of Baltimore City would
profit from the availablity of some of the hospital's specialized
services; and

Whereas, consideration is now under way as to the possible de-
velopment by the State of Maryland of a third institution for the
training of physicians and it is possible that Baltimore City Hospitals
may provide a useful training resource for such a medical school;
and