First full-service hospital in DC's Ward 8 brings new health opportunities

WASHINGTON (7News) — A new hospital is opening just a mile away from where United Medical Center is shutting down. UMC was in the Ward 8 community for more than 6 decades.

There were some concerns at UMC before it shut down.

DC hasn’t had a new hospital in 25 years, and those part of the hospital project and community members say outreach and rebuilding trust with medical resources in the community will be key.

“We’ve created a new hospital, a new operation, and we believe a new culture of excellence,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

As Cedar Hill opens near the St. Elizabeth’s campus, the doors of UMC will close. While covering UMC shutting down, 7News found a daughter who said she was turned away from the hospital.

“I’m like I really need to get someone to see my mom,” said Antoinette Petterson. “I asked to speak to a manager, a nurse comes out she like, ‘We cannot see you because we can’t register you,’ I left and went to MedStar.”

7News asked the Mayor and the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services what the community is supposed to do for the next five days.

“The transition has started,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Wayne Turnage. “UMC stopped taking patients by delivery from FEMS (D.C. Fire and EMS Department) April 1. We are in the process now of removing patients from UMC. So, when this hospital opens April 15, there will be no patients left.”

UMC is in the process of closing, and its maternal ward shut down due to poor services. 7News asked how families can trust they’ll get a different and safe experience at Cedar.

“We’ll have a team of qualified doctors and nurses to make sure when present needed maternal care they will receive it,” said Turnage.

“We are not picking up UMC and putting it at Cedar Hill, let me be completely clear about that,” Bowser said. “It’s a new building, it’s a new operator,r it’s a new set of staff. It’s an entirely different set of expectations. Not just that we picked up one and threw it over here.”

When Cedar Hill opens, it will have about 300 employees. At full operation, it will have over 600, with 51 percent employed from D.C.