Jason Barrett, who became CEO of King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services’ The George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., and group vice president of the District of Columbia market in mid-August 2025, is working to support major initiatives in his role, including a freestanding emergency department and provider group acquisition.
UHS shared plans in March 2024 to develop the $75 million freestanding ED on its Fletcher-Johnson Campus in the district’s Ward 7. The system already has 33 freestanding EDs in its portfolio, according to its website.
“In this market, this will be the first freestanding ER,” Mr. Barrett told Becker’s. “It’s access points. We want to get closer to the patient.”
Mr. Barret said construction for the freestanding ED is expected to kick off sometime in 2027, with the system in active discussions for another location to ensure primary care investment and growth.
Across the country, many health systems are also making major investments in freestanding EDs and urgent care facilities.
Most recently, Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare acquired 13 CommunityMed urgent care centers to serve under its Dallas-based Medical City Healthcare CareNow Urgent Care division. It also acquired six Austin Texas-based freestanding EDs through its Austin-based St. David’s HealthCare subsidiary. HCA and Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth are also growing their respective Florida ER footprints.
“We’ve been talking about consumerism for forever, but I think that patients want accessible, convenient and affordable care,” Mr. Barrett said. “I think COVID showed the world that the death of the acute facility was a little premature. We’re always going to need the acute facilities, but can we better facilitate care that aligns with what our patients, our consumers, want?”
Separately, Mr. Barrett said The George Washington University Hospital is also in negotiations to acquire GW Medical Faculty Associates, which is the clinical delivery arm of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
MFA comprises more than 500 physicians and 200 advanced practice providers, and provides care across more than 50 medical and surgical specialties in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, according to its website.
Mr. Barrett said that the university notified UHS in January 2025 that it couldn’t continue to sustain MFA. Should the acquisition go as planned, MFA would become a subsidiary of UHS.
“Conversations are still ongoing, but I feel very good that we would be in a great position, should this deal come to pass, that we would have a deeper alignment,” he said. “There is no reason why we couldn’t provide a much deeper footprint in terms of growth.”
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