residents deserve emergency and long-term medical care. It’s crucial that there be a plan in place for a new hospital. However, there seems to be no backup plan if these negotiations fail. Currently, the city is negotiating with Universal Health Services, the management for George Washington University Hospital, in the hopes that they will help fund and operate the new hospital. Council announced that the city would shut down UMC by 2023 because the hospital has been financially unsustainable for many years.Ĭlosing UMC will further exacerbate the lack of sufficient medical coverage in Wards 7 and 8. Council and the Mayor’s office to keep it running, unlike a private hospital that depends on private funds and independent management. United Medical Hospital (UMC) is the only hospital in the Southeast area and the only public hospital in D.C. Right now, the trauma centers are where the money is, rather than where the trauma is. The average household income in Northwest is 46 percent higher than that in Southeast. This concentration of urgent care reflects the wealth disparity and resulting inequality between the two sides of the city. Despite this, Northwest is home to all four operating trauma centers in the city at four different hospitals: George Washington University Hospital, Howard University Hospital, Children’s National Hospital, and Medstar Washington Hospital Center. Historically, there have been much higher rates of gun violence and homicide in Southeast than in Northwest D.C. That means 62 percent of victims were from Anacostia, many of whom might have lived if they had been closer to a hospital that could properly treat their wounds. this year, and 86 of those victims were murdered in Wards 7 and 8. At least 138 people have died by homicide in D.C. Wards 7 and 8 are trauma deserts, meaning there are no nearby trauma centers or hospitals equipped to provide care for severe injuries such as gunshot wounds or car crash injuries. The shortage of emergency medical services in Southeast parallels its food scarcity.
Trauma center levels explained professional#
Southeast has also been designated a Health Professional Shortage Area because of its insufficient health care options-There aren’t enough providers and the ones available are not affordable. In comparison, Ward 3, a higher-income, majority-white area in Northwest, has nine grocery stores for its 83,000 residents. It is considered a food desert because in Wards 7 and 8, both east of the Anacostia River, there are only three grocery stores serving 148,000 residents. Southeast is a systematically underserved community, made up of predominantly low-income and black neighborhoods. Neglecting to build one is irresponsible, reinforces economic and health coverage disparities, and actively contributes to the deaths of D.C. This editorial board believes Southeast needs a trauma center. That is because there are no trauma centers in Southeast D.C., despite the fact that rapid transport is essential to patients’ survival rate. If someone were to sustain a traumatic injury in D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood, the ambulance ride to the nearest qualified hospital could take as long as 30 minutes.
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