Howard University Statement on the East End Bill Passage

The East End Health Equity bill, with its final amendments, has allowed Howard University a place at the table to negotiate its need for access to the east end hospital to continue its mission of training physicians.

It is not a guarantee that Howard will be able to achieve that goal completely, but we will pursue it by working with the Mayor’s office in good faith. We remain in agreement with the need for a hospital to serve the citizens east of the river and are sensitive to the multiple items that must be resolved for this to happen.

We are cognizant that a hospital is but one critical component of a larger healthcare ecosystem that includes ambulatory care services, such as our partnership with Unity Health to expand healthcare delivery closer to the community. Bringing such a sweeping change In healthcare forward is a daunting task.

We are extremely grateful for the support that we have received from the D.C. community, alumni, our students, faculty and staff, and so many across the nation. We also are thankful for all the D.C. council members who were willing to listen to our issues whether or not they were able to openly support them. However, with dialog there is a chance to achieve reasonable goals for all involved.

We also wish to acknowledge the willingness of the Mayor and her staff to work with us as we strived to achieve an acceptable amendment.

We look forward to the next few months of anticipated progress towards securing the future of training doctors for communities that desperately need them.

Hugh E. Mighty MD, MBA, FACOG 
Dean, College of Medicine and Vice President of Clinical Affairs