A hospital that has served D.C. residents for six decades will shut done soon as a new hospital opens about a mile away.
United Medical Center in Southeast D.C. will close its doors for good April 15, the same day Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health opens.
“It is bittersweet, because UMC has been such an important part of this community for such a long time,” D.C. Deputy Chief Financial Officer Angell Jacobs said.
United Medical stopped admitting new patients this week. Ambulances no longer take patients to UMC. Walk-ins are still allowed, but patients who need in-patient care are being taken to another facility.
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“For any patient that when we get to the 15th still needs hospitalization, those will be the patients that will be transferred to a different facility of their choice,” said.
Hospital leaders told News4 alternative care will be available for longer-term patients.
The adult emergency room will close for good April 12. The children’s ER will stop accepting new patients at 11 a.m. April 15.
Health
“Children’s National will begin providing services at the new Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center on April 15 at 12:01 a.m. … allowing overlap to make sure there’s no interruption of pediatric services,” Jacobs said.
UMC, the city's only hospital east of the Anacostia River, served the community for 60 years.
D.C. leaders decided to close the hospital in 2019, citing mismanagement and financial issues.
The closure was expected to result in hundreds of layoffs. Officials say staff members have been assisted in finding new jobs.
“I know they have been looking for employment elsewhere, and our human resource department has been helping them with, for example, resume writing ‘cause a lot of the staff have been here for many years,” UMC CEO and Chief Nurse Officer Dr. Jacqueline Payne-Borden said.
Cedar Hill is located on the old St. Elizabeths Hospital campus in Southeast. It's a privately operated hospital with much-needed state of the art health care, including emergency, trauma, behavioral health, and maternal health and delivery services.
“Despite the fact that the sunsetting of UMC is approaching, we are very excited about the new facility that will be available to patients in the community,” Jacobs said.
Cedar Hill will be the first full-service hospital to open in the District in more than 20 years.
