Southeast D.C.’s only hospital will be replaced by a facility less than half its size

Despite the convenience in location, the only hospital in Washington, D.C.’s Southeast quadrant is not the top choice for residents in Wards 7 and 8. According to the Washington Post, United Medical Center (UMC) is financially challenged, and its obstetrics unit shut down last year after critical medical errors. With this, the hospital has been cited by the Washington Post as the “hospital from hell.” Thankfully, there are plans to replace the hospital, but Mayor Muriel Bowser’s plan unfortunately calls for a new facility less than half its size.

Planned for the campus of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, the new $248 million facility would offer 106 beds and is planned to open in 2023. UMC has 234 beds. Originally, the city asked for a 144-bed hospital, but City Administrator Rashad M. Young told the Washington Post, “Less beds is what is viable and can be sustainable.”

There are plans for an emergency room in the new facility, but there are no firm confirmations on whether or not there will be an obstetric and prenatal care unit, though Young said, “At this point I see no reason why we would not have obstetrics as part of that facility.”

• Hospital in Southeast would be half the size of United Medical Center [The Washington Post]

• Bowser shrinks proposal for UMC replacement hospital [Washington Business Journal]