The first new hospital in D.C. in more than 20 years is set to open in Southeast in about two months, providing much-needed services to an area of the city lacking in health care options.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Thursday the new Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health on the St. Elizabeths East campus will officially open on April 15. The hospital was named in honor of Frederick Douglass’ residence in Anacostia.
"I want to tell you in a very few short days, like, 68, we are going to cut the ribbon on the brand new Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health. Promise made, promise kept. So in April, 68 days, we will make good on that very important promise," she said.
For years, D.C. has worked to build a new hospital east of the Anacostia River, where residents in wards 7 and 8 have some of the worst health outcomes in the city.
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The new hospital will replace United Medical Center after years of problems there.
The $434 million facility is a full-service hospital with 136 beds that includes maternal care, women's health services, newborn delivery and a Level II NICU, a trauma center and a helipad for emergency transports.
"It means a great deal to the community. I think you know that we have been very focused as a city on partnering with a academic institution and for the city to get out of operating a hospital. So it means a big deal. We are very grateful that GW Health is our partner at Cedar Hill," Bowser said.
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Women who live in the area have had to travel miles to give birth since the maternity ward closed at United Medical Center in 2017.
It's unclear at this time if maternal services will be available when the Cedar Hill first opens.
"We do expect that there will be a ramp up of services. So whatever needs to happen on day one for a hospital to operate will happen. And then there will be other ramp ups over the course of several months, likely for all the lines of service," Bowser said.
United Medical is expected to be fully closed by the day Cedar Hill opens. Staff at United Medical began receiving termination notices Thursday, officials said.
“Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health will open on April 15, 2025," a hospital representative said in a statement. "This full-service inpatient hospital will provide the following high-quality services: Emergency, Trauma, Maternal Health and Delivery, Medical/Surgical, Behavioral Health and Critical Care."
