In an effort to improve health equity and health care access and to bring research and technology to Wards 7 and 8 in Washington, D.C., the George Washington University Hospital (GW Hospital) signed a letter of intent to oversee the opening of a new hospital and health complex in Southeast D.C.
The complex will be located on the campus of St. Elizabeths East through a partnership between GW Hospital and the District of Columbia.
“It will be the first public-private partnership to join in meeting the health care needs of the District, and the first new hospital to open in Washington, D.C., since the opening of GW Hospital’s Foggy Bottom location almost 20 years ago,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said during a press conference in August. “This new hospital and health complex will bring our care closer to the homes and into the community of many of our patients.”
The new complex, slated to open in 2023, may include urgent care, outpatient surgery, diagnostic imaging, and physician offices, and it is designed to improve access and outcomes that will benefit all D.C. residents, said GW Hospital CEO Kimberly Russo, MBA, MS.
“We are proud to partner with the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences [SMHS] and the GW Medical Faculty Associates to provide academic research-based care,” she said. “Our mission at the GW Hospital is to provide the highest quality care, advanced technology, and world-class service to our patients in an academic medical center dedicated to education and research.”
The hospital’s bed count will be finalized after an assessment of community needs, but is tentatively expected to be between 100 and 125. In addition, the southeast location will work in coordination with the Foggy Bottom Campus, which will continue to provide tertiary critical care services.
“As the first medical school in the District of Columbia, we are proud to be an important part of the history of this great city and an important part of the fabric of this community,” said Jeffrey S. Akman, MD ’81, RESD ’85, vice president for health affairs, Walter A. Bloedorn Professor of Administrative Medicine, and dean of SMHS. “Throughout our history, GW has responded to the growing needs of our own community and society at large through our commitment to finding solutions to local, national, and global problems. GW looks forward to working with the District on the final agreement with the goal of improving health care and achieving health equity with the residents of Wards 7 and 8 and the entire District of Columbia,” he said.
District Approves Construction of Helipad at GW Hospital
“We are thrilled to have official approval to add this vital enhancement in health care access to the D.C. area,” says Kimberly Russo, MBA, MS, CEO of the GW Hospital. “We would like to thank everyone who assisted us through this important pursuit, including our patients, their loved ones, our community partners, and city and federal government representatives, as well as all of our employees and providers.” Construction on the helipad is expected to begin in 2018 and completion is scheduled for spring 2019.
