Tom Donohue was taken to Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center in Southeast D.C. by ambulance last July.
When he arrived, he wasn鈥檛 triaged. Instead, he was rolled in the hospital鈥檚 waiting room. He spent hours there.
An Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, Donohue texted a colleague who worked at the hospital at the time about his experience. He was admitted for almost a week, and heard similar stories from staff about not having enough employees and being overworked.
The ordeal prompted Donohue to question whether the hospital opened too soon.
The facility opened last spring, and it was touted as an opportunity to transform healthcare in Southeast. While some residents view it as a much-needed community resource, others are worried a series of challenges may discourage people from receiving necessary medical care.
鈥淭he harm that鈥檚 being done to Cedar Hill and its reputation is alarming,鈥� Donohue said. 鈥淲e need Cedar Hill on so many levels. The disparities in care over so long of a time here in Ward 8 has been alarming.鈥�
D.C. covered most of the roughly $434 million to build the hospital. The site has 136 beds and a 54-bay emergency department. It also boasts maternal health and delivery care, including a Level II neonatal intensive care unit, and five operating rooms.
But there were delays in offering many of the promised outpatient services, and residents who visited the emergency department reported long wait times. CEO Anthony Coleman stepped down from the role in March.
鈥淭he former hospital, United Medical Center, ended up at the end of the day having a better reputation than the new hospital, Cedar Hill,鈥� community health advocate Ambrose Lane Jr. said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to take years to repair the image that Cedar Hill now has in the community.鈥�
The hospital declined 麻豆官网鈥檚 request to interview interim CEO Kimberlee Daniels. A spokeswoman didn鈥檛 respond to a list of questions or multiple requests for comment.
During a D.C. Council hearing last month, Daniels largely defended the hospital鈥檚 quality of care but acknowledged the wait times and staffing challenges.
Cedar Hill averaged 359 admissions per month from July through December, Daniels said, compared to 228 during the same period at United Medical Center in 2024.
A D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman said a complex set of criteria, including whether a hospital is operating on bypass, is used to determine which hospital an ambulance is routed to.
Meanwhile, Daniels said the hospital followed the 鈥渟tandard process鈥� new hospitals use to seek Medicare certification and Joint Commission accreditation.
Earlier this year, D.C.鈥檚 Department of Health gave the hospital an immediate jeopardy citation over issues with schedules for surgery. The citation represents a situation in which noncompliance has placed the health and safety of patients at risk, .
Hospital officials said they have fixed the problem that led to the city intervention.
The hospital has 574 full-time staff members and 67 nursing vacancies, which are getting covered by nurse staffing agencies, Daniels told the Council. The facility is also in 鈥渁dvanced discussions鈥� with George Washington University and its Medical Faculty Associates 鈥渞egarding a potential transition of physician employment and clinical operations,鈥� she said.
Regarding long wait times, Daniels said because community demand exceeded that of the hospital鈥檚 predecessor, there were initial challenges.
鈥淲e have made meaningful progress in reducing wait times and improving patient flow, including reductions in patients leaving without being seen,鈥� Daniels said.
A new freestanding emergency department that UHS is building in Ward 7 could help ease wait times too, Daniels told the Council.
Despite those challenges, some residents are grateful the hospital is available to them.
Michelle Warren, a recent Cedar Hill patient, said the quality of care is excellent, but 鈥渋t being a new hospital, I guess a lot people as well as myself in the community felt like it could have been a lot faster, especially with certain emergencies.鈥�
Samuel, who works nearby, said Cedar Hill is 鈥渂etter than the old hospital. It鈥檚 helping a lot of us, and it鈥檚 closer for a lot of us to get to, too.鈥�
For Donohue, the hospital鈥檚 reputation is on the line. Correcting mistakes and addressing challenges, he said, are essential in order for the community to be confident in the care the hospital offers.
鈥淭his is the place where we go, where we’re supposed to trust to go, for healthcare, to get better, Donohue said. 鈥淚f the community doesn’t trust the care that’s coming out of it, it’s going to fail.鈥�
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