News

Howard University Takes Step to Advance Vision for Howard University Hospital

This planned transition will help to ensure the Hospital’s future as a vital community resource

Howard Newsroom Staff
Nov 14, 2023 3 minutes

Nov. 14, 2023 (WASHINGTON) — Howard University is taking a key step toward improving the financial agility of Howard University Hospital (“the Hospital”), transitioning the Hospital into a separate, controlled subsidiary legal entity, subject to regulatory review and approval by DC Health. This planned transition will help to ensure the Hospital’s future as a vital community resource.

This is a legal transaction with no operational changes for Howard University or the Hospital. It will have minimal to no impact on the University’s providers, faculty, residents or employees, and the patients and communities served by the Hospital. All patients will continue to receive the same quality, compassionate care from the providers they know and trust.

“Transitioning Howard University Hospital into a separate legal entity will enable us to advance our strategic, long-held vision to secure the Hospital’s long-term stability, both operationally and financially,” said Hugh Mighty, M.D., Howard University’s Senior Vice President of Health Affairs. “We’re taking this step to build on our 160-year history of providing comprehensive health care in Washington, D.C. and our illustrious legacy as a leading teaching hospital for Black and other diverse physicians and healthcare professionals.”

Under this transition, Howard University will retain ownership of the existing hospital building and underlying land, and Adventist HealthCare will continue to manage operations at the Hospital under the current Master Services Agreement. Both organizations are committed to working together to position the Hospital for continued, increased sustainability and future growth.

With unanimous Board approval, Howard University has filed notice with DC Health’s State Health Planning and Development Agency (SHPDA) for a Certificate of Need to effectuate the transaction. With this filing, Howard University has entered a regulatory review and public comment period. Pending regulatory approvals, Howard University anticipates finalizing the transition of Howard University Hospital into a subsidiary legal entity, HUHC, effective January 1, 2024.

###

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 14 schools and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 programs of study leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced two Schwarzman Scholars, four Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 12 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African American PhD. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

About Howard University Hospital

The rich tradition of leadership and service at Howard University Hospital (HUH) dates back to 1862. Housed in converted army barracks, it was initially called Freedmen’s Hospital and provided a refuge where ex-slaves received the medical care they were denied elsewhere. A private, nonprofit institution, HUH is the nation's only teaching hospital located on the campus of a historically Black university. It offers medical students a superior learning environment and opportunities to observe or participate in ground-breaking clinical and research work with professionals who are changing the face of health care. Washingtonian and Black Enterprise magazines have identified physicians affiliated with the hospital as leaders in a vast range of specialties.