WASHINGTON — The Southeast Entertainment and Sports Arena opened two years ago in Congress Heights, setting the stage for further development at the mainly abandoned Saint Elizabeth’s 300-acre site on Martin Luther King Avenue.
Now, St. Elizabeth's will also be home to the area’s first level three trauma center. The DC Council unanimously approved the vote for the new Southeast Hospital.
Let’s breakdown a few questions viewers have asked about the new hospital, with help from Ambrose Lane, the founder of the advocacy group Health Alliance Network.
When will the hospital open?
According to the DC Department of Health Care Finance, the new $375-million GW Health Hospital is slated to open in the fall of 2024 with an ambulatory pavilion in 2023.
What will the hospital offer?
The DHCF lists a maternity ward, a trauma center, ambulatory care center, two new urgent care facilities and 136 beds.
That’s 98 fewer beds than United Medical Center, Southeast’s only hospital currently. UMC is slated to close in 2023 amid safety concerns over patient care.
“It's a good thing to have a hospital, I'm not going to deny that,” Lane said. "But the conditions that we are facing in Ward 7 and 8, just to give you an example, Ward 8 has the highest adoption rate in the Western Hemisphere at 19.7%.”
Will this hospital solve health disparities East of the River?
Lane expressed his doubts.
“The contract and the legislation provide for the opening of two urgent care centers, which are much needed in Ward 7 and Ward 8," Lane said. "But again, that does not address the high chronic disease rates and the continued rise in chronic disease rates for residents right now."
What’s the impact on the community?
While Lane applauded the employment benefits the hospital could add to the community -- at least 500 new jobs -- the long-time health advocate said he fears that the multi-million-dollar facility will bring higher rents and resident displacement to the neighborhood.
“The District cannot gentrify itself out of solving these problems of chronic disease," he said. "It has to put resources in efforts to address chronic disease right now."
Lane said there are examples of hospitals that have built affordable housing and even grocery stores inside its facility. He said he will lobby to have that included at the GW Health Hospital.
The DC Council said it will hold hearings on the new SE hospital before the summer recess in August.