D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, project partners, health care providers, political leaders, and residents celebrated the topping out of the Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health facility on the St. Elizabeths East Campus in Ward 8 in Southeast on Thursday.
Bowser and guests signed the facility’s final steel beam in the hospital’s frame to mark a critical portion of the project completion and to celebrate the construction progress of the building.
“With today’s topping out, we are even closer to fulfilling a decadeslong vision — a promise to bring a new high-quality hospital and health system east of the river,” Bowser said. “When we open Cedar Hill, this will be a facility that residents can trust, a hospital that is modern and financially stable. Today, I am grateful for all workers, health care partners, and teams who are helping me keep this promise and delivering D.C.’s first new full-time service hospital in over 20 years.”
The building of the hospital is expected to be done by 2025. The $434.4 million hospital will include 136 beds (with the ability to expand to 184), a verified trauma center, adult and pediatric emergency departments, maternal health and delivery, an ambulatory pavilion for physician offices, clinics, a community space, a 500-car garage, and a helipad for emergency transports.
The hospital will be complemented by two new urgent care centers in Wards 7 and 8.
D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) said he can’t wait for Cedar Hill to open.
“Having a new hospital with a trauma center in Ward 8 will be a great benefit to our residents and the community,” White said.
Council members Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7) and Christina Henderson (I-At Large), who chair the Hospital and Health Equity and Health committees, respectively, both said the new facility will be a benefit for residents east of the Anacostia River as well as everyone in the city.