Emergency Center Coming to DC’s Ward 7 at Fletcher-Johnson Campus
By Keith Loria March 8, 2024 5:05 pm
reprints
Universal Health Services (UHS) will invest $20 million into building a new emergency center in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 7, part of the redevelopment of the Fletcher-Johnson campus.
The move is the latest phase in a larger 2018 deal between D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration and George Washington University Hospital, part of UHS, to bring health services to historically underserved areas East of the Anacostia River.
At the time, UHS agreed to invest $75 million over 10 years in infrastructure in Ward 7 and Ward 8. The first project was a $17 million investment in the creation of Cedar Hill Urgent Care GW Health facility in Ward 8, which opened in October 2022.
Ward 7’s new free-standing emergency department, which will be on Benning Road, will offer 24/7 emergency services, with about 40 staff members, according to Bowser, who announced the new emergency center this week.
It will be part of the subsidized redevelopment of the former Fletcher-Johnson middle school and recreation center, which closed in 2008. Bowser’s 2024 budget included $42 million for the preparation of the District-owned campus, which included knocking down the existing building and improving the infrastructure. When complete, the campus will include multifamily, affordable senior-assisted living units, retail shops and green space.
“This facility will kick-start the important work of bringing new services and investment to Fletcher-Johnson and it will continue the important work we are doing to grow our network of health care east of the river,” Bowser said in a statement. “By building a comprehensive system of care that allows more residents to get the right care at the right time, closer to home, we can improve health outcomes and build a healthier and more equitable D.C.”
While not part of the District deal, UHS and George Washington University are building the first new hospital in D.C. in two decades in partnership with Children’s National Hospital, which is in Ward 8. In 2022, the partnership started work on the $375 million Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, GW Health on the historic St. Elizabeths East campus.
The new emergency facility on theFletcher-Johnson campus in Ward 7 is expected to be completed in 2025.
“Serving primarily District residents in Wards 7 and 8, this facility will be vital in alleviating health care disparities throughout these important communities,” Kimberly Russo, George Washington University Hospital’s CEO and Universal Health Services’s group vice president, acute care division for the D.C. region, said in a statement.
Keith Loria can be reached at Kloria@commercialobserver.com.
