The Georgetown University Medical Center lost $20 million in the last fiscal year. The medical center is going to lose $28 million in the next fiscal year. This problem is the largest challenge currently facing the administration. It’s only reasonable that we expect them to have a clear plan.
Unfortunately, the administration’s plan is anything but clear. While University President John J. DeGioia has made it obvious at the most recent medical center open meeting that he understands the critical importance of reining in these costs, he has yet to show he has specific, detailed plans to reach his goal of balancing the budget by FY 2007.
This issue is serious for all students, especially considering that this deficit is hindering further construction on any other new programs or facilities the students and the administration might have in mind.
DeGioia believes that the best way to break even is to work individually with each component of the medical center: The School of Medicine, the School of Nursing and Health Studies, the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and all non-Lombardi Research. At the Aug. 30 medical center meeting, DeGioia announced that he has instituted five working groups to “develop the most sophisticated understanding possible of the economic and business realities upon which the academic operations of our four units are based, in order to develop the sensible priorities, incentives, and financial controls.” At the same time he wants to protect academic and research quantity.
This goal is laudable, but it is too little, too late. Now is not the time to begin looking for an understanding. Instead the University must begin making changes instead of just implementing stopgap measures like layoffs.
DeGioia has known about these problems for a long time: The medical center has run a deficit since 1993, and his success orchestrating the sale of the University Hopsital to MedStar Health in 2000 directly lead to his selection as University President. He, more than anyone, should understand the need for a comprehensive plan on a realistic timetable.
The medical center is clearly important to our University and its scholarly mission. As DeGioia noted, our research in the areas of cervical cancer, bone marrow transplants and Alzheimer’s Disease is on the cutting edge. The medical center’s training of future doctors, nurses and healthcare administrators is important to the future of the healthcare profession.
President DeGioia made his name handling medical center problems, and now he has the opportunity to do it again. If he cannot, the University and its Board of Directors need to hold him accountable.
