Originally Released: July 26, 1996
Patient / Consumer Inquiries: 1-800-492-5538
Media Contact: 410-328-8919

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND MEDICAL SYSTEM ACQUIRES DEATON HOSPITAL

The University of Maryland Medical System has purchased Deaton Specialty Hospital & Home, Inc., a 370-bed, long-term care facility located in downtown Baltimore near the Inner Harbor. The facility, formerly owned by the Christ Lutheran Church, has 420 full-time employees.

Deaton provides both chronic care and skilled nursing care for people with a variety of injuries and illnesses. Its programs include management of complex wounds, a behavioral program for brain injured patients, dialysis, terminal care and a ventilator program that is the largest in the region. The hospital also has nursing care services for those needing infusion therapy, tube feeding and geriatric rehabilitation. The facility also cares for elderly patients suffering from dementia.

"The successful medical centers of the future will offer a full array of health services, from primary care through long-term nursing care, all delivered in a coordinated fashion," says Morton I. Rapoport, M.D., president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System. "Deaton is an exceptional facility that will give us a long-term care site to complement our full spectrum of care," he explains.

The Medical System, with its partner, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has been developing an integrated delivery system which provides patients with a full range of services. That integrated delivery system now includes primary care, acute hospital care, outpatient specialty care and a full range of postacute services (rehabilitation at Kernan Hospital, three comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities, home health care provided by Bay Area Health and now Deaton).

"While time spent in acute care hospitals is declining, long-term care is a segment of the health care industry which is growing. That makes Deaton a highly desirable facility, and the Medical System faced stiff competition to acquire it," says Rapoport. The Christ Lutheran Church began evaluating acquisition offers last year and considered several offers before choosing the University of Maryland Medical System.

"Health care management has become increasingly complex in recent years," says Pastor John Sabatelli of the Christ Lutheran Church. "Because the University of Maryland Medical System is a strong academic medical institution with tremendous expertise, the acquisition will enable Deaton to thrive and continue to provide an exceptional level of care for patients in the coming years."

The acquisition of Deaton will enhance the ability of University of Maryland physicians to follow the care and progress of their patients as they move from an acute care setting to a long- term care facility. It will give patients the ability to stay with the Medical System if they no longer need the services of an acute care hospital but are not ready to be at home.

Under Medical System ownership, Deaton will maintain its mission and keep its name. Errol Newport, the president of Deaton for the past two years, will remain in that position. Before becoming president, Newport was Deaton's executive vice president for six years. He came to Deaton in 1987 from Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where he was vice president of operations. He has a bachelor's degree from Howard University and a master's degree in public administration from American University.

"The University of Maryland Medical System's desire to acquire Deaton Hospital is evidence of the excellence of our staff and patient care," says Newport. One of the programs that began under his leadership is a brain injury program that opened in December 1995 to address behavioral problems in patients following traumatic brain injuries. A subacute unit began at Deaton in September 1995 for patients with a variety of diagnoses who no longer need acute hospital care but are too ill to go home.

Deaton is a four-story, 250,000-square-foot facility. It is located at the corner of Charles and Lee Streets, about one mile from the Medical System, which includes the University of Maryland Hospital, the University of Maryland Cancer Center and the Shock Trauma Center.

###

For patient inquiries, call 1-800-492-5538 or click here to make an appointment.


This page was last updated on: March 12, 2008.