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Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new hospital at the St. Elizabeth’s East Campus and announced the new name, Cedar Hill Regional Health Center, GW Health. MSDC attended the ceremony, as did officials from Universal Health Services, George Washington University, and Children’s National Hospital, as a long-time advocate for increased access to healthcare East of the River. Quality care for all, including equitable healthcare facilities across all eight wards, is a top priority in MSDC’s advocacy agenda. 

The new 136-bed full-service hospital will provide a range of inpatient services to all District residents, including newborn delivery, maternal health and women’s services, a verified trauma center, general surgery, behavioral health, and pediatric and adult emergency services. According to the Office of the Mayor, the facility is scheduled to open to patients in late December 2024 and will be operated by Universal Health Services under a 75-year lease. Physicians, practitioners, and academic medicine will be provided by George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Children’s National Hospital.

Although a modern hospital built with a local partner and reputable healthcare system is a best-case scenario for a new community hospital, it is not a cure-all for health care access East of the River.  As past MSDC president Dr. Julian Craig said when testifying before the DC Council in June 2020, "A comprehensive healthcare system requires not only a world class hospital, but also independent physician practices." Independent practice physicians, who are often engaged in their community, and are important to a healthy physician mix for Wards 7 and 8.  MSDC and its Private Practice Physicians Section are working to improve conditions for independent practice physicians East of the River, and across all eight wards.