District of Columbia residents are expressing concern about the only comprehensive hospital that is located east of the Anacostia River after a management shake-up.

The United Medical Center is the only full service hospital located in the East End of the District. (Courtesy photo)

On Nov. 7, seven D.C. Council members voted to terminate the contract of Veritas, the company that manages the United Medical Center (UMC) that is located in Ward 8 in Southeast D.C. Using a council tactic known as a disapproval resolution, D.C. Council member Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7), who chairs the Committee on Health, led the charge to relieve Veritas of its duties at the United Medical Center and he was joined by D.C. Council members Trayon White (D-Ward 8), Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), Robert White (D-At Large), Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), Elissa Silverman (I-At Large) and David Grosso (I-At Large).

“Veritas is currently failing to meet three significant objectives in its contract,” Gray, who served as the District’s mayor from 2011-2015, said. “The quality of health care is not at an acceptable level, patient volume has decreased and Veritas has failed to meet revenue goals established in its current contact with the city.”

UMC is a city government supported institution that has had problems since its founding in 1966 as the Morris Cafitz Memorial Hospital (later renamed the Greater Southeast Community Hospital in 1974.) The hospital has long had financial issues because it serves low-income neighborhoods in the District’s East End and in central Prince George’s County, Md.

Residents in its service areas tend not to have the money to pay for services and, as a result, the costs of their care is paid by District taxpayers.

In 1999, the bankrupt hospital was bought by Arizona-based Doctors Community Health Care Corp. In 2007, the hospital changed management and it was renamed United Medical Center in 2008.

In 2010, the District government took control of the hospital citing poor management and created the Not-for-Profit Hospital Corp. to be its primary manager. Gray, as mayor, selected Huron Consulting to manage UMC until the Bowser administration selected Veritas to run the facility this April.

The latest controversy erupted when the D.C. Health Director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt ordered the shutdown of the obstetrical unit on Aug. 7. Gray has held hearings since then which revealed that the unit continues to have problems and there are concerns that it may be closed permanently.

Gray has publicly stated that is not an option and led the effort to oust Veritas. Jennifer Devlin, a spokeswoman for UMC, told the AFRO that Veritas will no longer manage the hospital as of Nov. 30.

“We are still looking for a new manager,” Devlin said. She also said no hard timetable is in place for a permanent manager at this time.

In a conference call with reporters on Nov. 8, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and Wayne Turnage, who leads the District’s agency on health care finance, both said they are working with the UMC board to find a new manager and are even considering hiring its own executives.

Council member Trayon White talked about the UMC situation at the Nov. 11 meeting of the Ward 8 Faith Leaders organization that was held at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church.

“We have to figure out how to move forward,” White said.

“When we looked at the history of this company , we saw the same pattern ,” he said. “We also heard of bad treatment of employees. I am committed to work with hospital chairman of the board LaRuby May to find an operator for the hospital.”

Trayon White said there is serious talk about the George Washington University Hospital taking over UMC’s emergency room operations but the discussions are at the beginning stage.

Tyrell M. Holcomb is an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Ward 7, representing single-member district 7F01. Holcomb told the AFRO that many of his constituents use the services of UMC and he agrees with the council’s action on Veritas.

“That hospital needs a new direction,” Holcomb said. He said residents in East End should have quality health care “regardless of race, color and socio-economic status.

“It is no secret that there is only one full service hospital here,” he said. “That is a similar situation where there are only three full-service grocery stores to serve the 150,000 residents who live east of the Anacostia River.”

Jeremiah Lowery is a candidate for the Democratic at-large position on the D.C. Council in 2018. Lowery, who used to live in Ward 8 and now resides in Ward 4, told the AFRO that in the past, no matter who manages the hospital, it didn’t have a good reputation in the community.

“Ward 8 has been neglected for so many decades,” Lowery said. “That company wasn’t doing a good job and residents east of the river deserve quality health care.”