WASHINGTON (April 30, 2020) – Today, we announce in partnership with the District of Columbia Government, that GW’s Academic Medical Enterprise and Universal Health Services have finalized a non-binding memorandum of agreement to enter into negotiations to support the establishment and operation of a hospital and health care services on the St. Elizabeths campus in Southeast, D.C. GW’s Academic Medical Enterprise consists of The GW Medical Faculty Associates, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and the GW Hospital and its corporate head, Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS).
“While DC continues to battle this pandemic, our team has remained committed to delivering hope and a better DC through a more equitable health care system,” said Mayor Bowser. “With these new agreements, we will deliver high quality, integrated care and transform our health care system by promoting equity in care, access, and outcomes. Together, we will build a health care system that meets the needs of all residents, attacks health disparities, and makes us more resilient for the challenges that lie ahead.”
"The George Washington University is deeply committed to the health of our D.C. community," GW President Thomas LeBlanc said. "We are honored to have the opportunity to provide the compassionate and expert care of our faculty and medical providers in service of the residents of Wards 7 and 8, and to harness our teaching and research missions to reduce inequities and improve access to high-quality health care services."
The new hospital and health services complex would be clinically integrated with the operations of the GW Hospital in Foggy Bottom. Faculty from the GW provider led practice, The GW Medical Faculty Associates and the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences would provide the academic and medical staffing within this new complex. Together, the GW Academic Medical Enterprise would bring medical education, research, and technology to the new hospital and health services complex, creating an integrated, academic medical provider in the city’s most medically underserved wards. With a long history of providing care to residents of Wards 7 and 8, GW is pleased to expand care to these communities.
“The new integrated hospital and health services enterprise at the St. Elizabeths campus will be a vital network, increasing access to high-quality, equitable care for all DC residents. We look forward to bringing cutting-edge medical services, programs and technology to the new site, fully integrating it with our established clinical network,” said Marc Miller, President of Universal Health Services.
“We are thrilled to be a part of this important expansion of needed health care in Washington, D.C. As an academic medical enterprise, our mission to improve the lives of the people we serve is central to everything that we do in our clinics, research labs, and classrooms. We are committed to fostering the health of the citizens of our community by bringing much needed services to those in Ward 7 and Ward 8,” said Barbara L. Bass, MD, Vice President for Health Affairs, Dean of the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and CEO of The GW Medical Faculty Associates.
The site would include a 136 inpatient bed facility, with the ability to expand to 196 beds, making it the first new hospital in the District in almost 20 years. In addition, ambulatory services including urgent care, outpatient surgery, physical rehabilitation services, diagnostic imaging and physician offices would also open at the site in earlier increments. The development of these new services would expand access to high-quality, equitable health care for District residents.
“Through this partnership, we will not only expand access to high-quality, equitable care, but we will improve health outcomes for so many individuals. It is truly an opportunity for GW to advance medicine and change the landscape of health care in the District for the better,” said Kimberly Russo, MBA, CEO and Managing Director of the GW Hospital. GW Hospital in Foggy Bottom is owned by a joint venture, in which UHS is the majority owner.
The new East End Hospital is set to open in Fall 2024, pending D.C. Council approval.
