Mayor, Task Force recommend ambulatory care centers in lieu of

National Capital Medical Center

DC Mayor Anthony Williams "embraced wholeheartedly" the report of a task force charged with recommending how the City could best spend $212 million to serve the health care needs of DC residents, especially residents in the eastern part of the City.  In a 10 to 5 vote, the Task Force recommended building a "Healthplex" on the site of the former DC General, adding ambulatory care centers in Wards 7 and 8 and spending $80 million to renovate Greater South Community Hospital, providing it comes under new, non-profit ownership.  The Task Force offered its recommendations to the Mayor as an alternate use for the $212 million which the Mayor had earlier recommended the City spend to help Howard University construct a state-of-the-art National Capital Medical Center (NCMC) on the site of the now-closed DC General Hospital.  Similar to a model found in Northern Virginia, the healthplex would offer ambulatory care and emergency services as well as offices for physicians in primary and specialty care.

Medical Society of DC Executive Vice President K. Edward Shanbacker, MPA, a member of the Task Force, ultimately voted to support the healthplex proposal, saying, "It is clear there are alternative strategies to the NCMC to improve the health status of District residents in eastern Washington and the Task Force landed on one such strategy after several months of intense review. It is now time for the Administration and the Council to finalize such a strategy and begin implementation.  Given the compelling morbidity and mortality data the Task Force was presented with, further delay should not be considered one such option."

The fate of the two proposals rests in the hands of the DC Council which as of this writing, is divided on the issue.