University of Maryland Medical System celebrates 40 years
March 2025
University of Maryland Medical System provides 25% of all hospital-based care in Maryland. (courtesy University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center, La Plata, Md.)
story and photos courtesy UMMS
Forty years ago, a new way to imagine healthcare in Maryland was born when visionary leaders saw the future potential of a single state-owned and state-funded hospital in downtown Baltimore facing financial challenges. Fast forward to today and University of Maryland Medical System is a thriving network reaching urban, suburban and rural communities across the state, providing 25% of all hospital-based care in Maryland.
“The history of University of Maryland Medical System is a story that is focused on an incredible journey that demonstrates the power of leadership, the power of partnership and the success of privatization,” says Mohan Suntha, M.D., MBA, president and chief executive officer of UMMS. “We are profoundly grateful for those who came before us and set the foundation upon which our future is built.”
In 1823, faculty from University of Maryland College of Medicine formed the Baltimore Infirmary in downtown Baltimore, which was the first teaching hospital associated with a degree-granting medical school and the original residency program in medical education. This later became University of Maryland Hospital, commonly known as “University Hospital,” which operated as a state institution for more than 160 years.
In the early 1980s, University of Maryland Hospital was losing several million dollars annually when a group of hospital leaders had the foresight to approach the state to privatize the hospital, and the University of Maryland Medical System Corporation — albeit a network of a single hospital — was created in state legislation in 1984 under then-Gov. Harry Hughes as a private, nonprofit corporation.
Today, UMMS has nearly $5 billion in annual revenues and more than 28,000 team members, and offers care in more than 150 locations, including 10 hospitals, five standalone emergency departments and a network of urgent care centers.
“When you think about who we are as a health system, we are everything from academic healthcare in urban-based environments like the city of Baltimore and Prince George’s County, to a rural healthcare provider on the mid-Shore; to delivering healthcare in suburban counties like Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Charles and Harford,” R. Alan Butler, chair of the UMMS board of directors, says. “We pride ourselves on innovation; today’s medical discoveries and research lead tomorrow’s clinical care at the bedside. While we are delivering the care of today, we take on the responsibility of educating the future healthcare workforce. We do this through partnership, and so when I look around today, I am incredibly excited about the partners that sit together.”