As the district’s only public hospital, UMC has come under scrutiny in recent months amid reports of potential care protocol breaches linked to a patient death and a 90-day obstetrics ward shutdown order by regulators in August, among other issues.
The district spent $179.7 million on UMC during the past 10 years, according to the report. “What it has gotten in return is a perennially troubled hospital that has done little to meet the real health needs of residents,” the editors wrote. “Instead, officials are blithely talking about spending as much as $330 million to build a new hospital.”
The proposed $330 million hospital would be built at the St. Elizabeths Hospital campus near the district, The Washington Post reports. The editors questioned if the new hospital would be financially viable given UMC’s past, and whether hospital systems would be interested in partnering with the district.
On Oct. 16, the District of Columbia Hospital Association said it has “been very clear that a new acute care facility is not the cure all for the health system.” Rather, the association said, “The solution must encompass a hub model where specialists, primary care doctors, acute and sub-acute services work in concert to ensure that the system is all encompassing.”
To read the full op-ed, click here.
More articles on facilities management:
UPMC to build $200M cancer research center after a 6-year delay
St. Luke’s opens $114M hospital in Idaho
IU Health West Hospital plans $83M expansion
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