Howard University has shown little interest in participating in a District-sponsored task force created to study alternatives to a proposed hospital it was scheduled to build in Southeast.
University President H. Patrick Swygert was invited to join the panel, which will consider options for the former site of D.C. General Hospital other than the $400 million, 250-bed National Capital Medical Center, a school spokeswoman said Wednesday.
But J.J. Pryor questioned whether joining the panel serves the school’s interests.
“At this point, given that several members of the task force have been part of an organized campaign to derail the NCMC, and in doing so are negatively impacting 252,000 residents in the eastern quadrant of the District that are without access to a Level One Trauma Center and the services that it provides, it is not clear to us what the investment of additional time will mean,” Pryor said in a statement.
Howard “stands on the side of the people,” Pryor said, and it continues to believe the National Capital Medical Center is an appropriate project for the property known as Reservation 13.
Mayor Anthony Williams said Wednesday that he had made “overtures” to Howard regarding the task force and was working to get the school involved.
He established the study commission after retracting his support for the medical center, though he signed an exclusive rights agreement with Howard in January to build the facility — splitting construction costs between the two entities.
The task force, chaired by Department of Health Director Dr. Gregg Pane, includes a dozen District health care experts representing existing hospitals, nonprofits and policy directors.
Challenges
» Consider full-service hospital ambulatory care, healthplex or urgent care for Reservation 13
» Study District’s most pressing health care issues
» Develop recommendations to promote financial stability of all hospitals
