Muriel Bowser announces deals to open hospitals to address disparity in health care access

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has announced agreements to open two hospitals that she said will address disparities in health care access that have become glaring amid the city’s COVID-19 deaths, of which black people account 80%.

Universal Health Services and George Washington Medical Faculty Associates will open a 136-bed hospital on the campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital in Ward 8 in 2024, and Howard University will open a 225-bed facility on Georgia Avenue in Ward 1 in 2026.

“While DC continues to battle this pandemic, our team has remained committed to delivering hope and a better DC through a more equitable health care system,” Miss Bowser said in a press release. “With these new agreements, we will deliver high quality, integrated care and transform our health care system by promoting equity in care, access, and outcomes. Together, we will build a health care system that meets the needs of all residents, attacks health disparities, and makes us more resilient for the challenges that lie ahead.”

The agreements on the $375 million hospital and ambulatory center at St. Elizabeths and the $300 million hospital campus at Howard come as city officials must cut $721 million from this year’s budget and $750 million from next year’s because of revenue losses during the public health emergency.

At a press conference Thursday, City Administrator Rashad Young said cutting the budget will be a challenge, but the District still has nearly $7 billion in its capital budget to invest throughout the city.

“Thankfully, the capital budget already had $300 million or more for the construction of this hospital and we are able to preserve that in the capital budget by making some tradeoffs and making some frankly difficult choices,” Mr. Young said without details about the tradeoffs that were made.

Meanwhile, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has ordered that the state flag fly at half-staff to honor COVID-19 victims, health care workers and fallen heroes.

“I have also ordered the flag to remain lowered through the weekend as we celebrate the selfless and heroic efforts of our healthcare workers — the doctors, nurses, paramedics, and providers on the front lines who have been going on no sleep, not seeing their families, truly risking everything to care and provide for the sick and those in need,” Mr. Hogan said Thursday at a press release. “These men and women are as compassionate as they are fearless.”

The flag will fly at half-staff Friday for Fallen Heroes Day and Saturday for Healthcare Heroes Day, returning to full-staff at sunset on Sunday.

In a Wednesday appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” the Republican governor sought to establish a middle ground in his recent spat with President Trump over the state acquiring coronavirus tests from South Korea, saying he doesn’t try to criticize the president “for no reason.”

“We’ve expressed our frustration on the lack of availability of testing and personal protective equipment and a number of other issues,” Mr. Hogan said on the program. “I think they’re making some strides and they have been doing a good job of communicating with the governors and trying to address our needs. We’ve butted heads a few times, but I haven’t tried to go out and — I’m not one of those folks that’s just out criticizing the president for no reason. I’m just pushing to try to get the help we need in our states.”

Mr. Trump had criticized Mr. Hogan for receiving 500,000 coronavirus test kits from South Korea, saying at an April 20 briefing: “The governor of Maryland could have called [Vice President] Mike Pence, could have saved a lot of money.”

Mr. Hogan disagreed, saying he had no choice but to look elsewhere for tests.

“We were put in the position where governors were scraping and clawing and trying to get tests all over the country from various providers, and all over the world,” he said.

Mr. Hogan said Wednesday that his plan for reopening the state calls for a 14-day decrease or plateau in new cases, not necessarily 14 days of consecutive declines.

“We were starting to see that,” he said. “We’ve seen a couple days go up, if it comes back down we are not going to restart the clock.”

He said officials are watching the number of new cases, intensive care unit usage and hospitalizations, and expressed hope about implementing his “Maryland Strong Roadmap to Recovery” next week.

Plans to reopen the District, however, won’t be implemented at least for two more weeks as transmission of the coronavirus is still widespread and still trending upward, D.C. Department of Health officials said on a virtual town hall Thursday night.

• Adam Zielonka contributed to this story.