Washington, DC, is abandoning efforts in DC Superior Court to take over United Medical Center because there are ways less costly than a court-ordered receivership to gain control of the Southeast Washington hospital, Attorney General Peter Nickles said. Nickles said he saw "lawyers coming out of the woodwork" and did not want to put a financial burden on the city, which contended in a court filing last week that the medical center has been badly managed by Specialty Hospitals of America, the hospital's private, for-profit operator. The District can take other routes to seize the hospital and put new management in place, Nickles said.
