Howard University Hospital, previously known as Freedmen's Hospital, is a major hospital located in

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, built on the site of the previous

Griffith Stadium Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW. The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Boundar ...

. The hospital has served the African-American community in the area for over 150 years, having been established in 1862 to cater for the medical needs of the thousands of African Americans who came to Washington during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, seeking their freedom. The first hospital of its kind to provide medical treatment for former slaves, it later became the major hospital for the area's African American community.

Overview

Howard University Hospital (HUH) is a private, nonprofit institution in Washington, D.C., affiliated with

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

. HUH is the nation's only teaching hospital on the campus of a

historically black university Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

. It offers medical students opportunities to observe and participate in clinical and research work with professionals. The 2001 closure of D.C. General Hospital sent the poorest patients there, and by 2016 the financially overburdened hospital had the highest rate of wrongful death lawsuits of any health facility in Washington D.C. In 2020 the hospital came under the management of

Adventist HealthCare Adventist HealthCare is a not-for-profit health services organization based in Gaithersburg, Maryland that employs more than 6,000 people and provides healthcare for more than 400,000 individuals in the community each year. The primary service a ...

, providing new resources and opportunities for clinical training in the network's other facilities. Physicians and other health professionals are engaged weekly in activities and services in the local community, including medical presentations, free health screenings, educational workshops, and health fairs. HUH's community-based programs include the Diabetes Treatment Center, a facility that service the medical needs of diabetic patients through a multidisciplinary approach to patient care. The Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP), founded by transplant surgeon Clive O. Callender, is headquartered at Howard University Hospital. Specialized services include endocrinology, ophthalmology, podiatry, diabetes education, pharmacy services and nutrition services. Counseling is tailored to the patient's goals, education and lifestyle. HUH functions as a DC Level 1 Trauma Center under the Division of Trauma and Critical Care. It handles more than 1,300 admissions annually and became one of the primary trauma centers for District residents after the closure of District of Columbia General Hospital. HUH trauma leadership includes Dr. Edward E. Cornwell, III, a trauma surgeon, author and community activist who has devoted his career to work in urban communities. His work in the operating room and his outreach to Black males has been featured in

Black Enterprise ''Black Enterprise'' is a black-owned multimedia company. Since the 1970s, its flagship product ''Black Enterprise'' magazine has covered African-American businesses with a readership of 3.7 million. The company was founded in 1970 by Earl ...

magazine and by ABC News. The Division of Trauma is also noted for the high research productivity of its surgeons, with more than 50 trauma articles published in peer-reviewed journals in the past three years. HUH, along with the Division of Health Sciences and the Howard University Office of University Communications, publishes a quarterly health newsletter called ''The Check Up''.

History

Freedmen's Hospital

Freedmen's Hospital and Asylum was first established in 1862 on the grounds of the Camp Barker, 13th and R Streets, NW, and cared for freed, disabled and aged blacks. In 1863, it was placed under the charge of Dr. Alexander Augusta, the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to head a hospital in the United States. After the

, it became the

teaching hospital A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-located ...

of Howard University Medical School, established in 1868, while remaining under federal control. Prior to 1874 it was run by the Freedmen's Bureau in the

U.S. Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

, and in 1874 it was transferred to the Department of the Interior. In 1881, Charles Burleigh Purvis was appointed by President

Chester Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A ...

to Surgeon-in-Charge at the Freedmen's hospital. Purvis was Surgeon-in-Charge at the Freedmen's Hospital from October 1, 1881, to 1894, and in that role was the first black person to head a hospital under civilian authority. During 1883–1905, the hospital was run by the

Commissioners of the District of Columbia A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

, but it was returned to the Department of the Interior afterwards. Freedmen's Hospital, Howard University

Early in the 20th century, Congress authorized the construction of a new hospital. It was completed in 1909 on Bryant Street, NW, between 4th and 6th Streets. When

Abraham Flexner Abraham Flexner (November 13, 1866 – September 21, 1959) was an American educator, best known for his role in the 20th century reform of medical and higher education in the United States and Canada. After founding and directing a college-prep ...

visited the District of Columbia that year, he was impressed by the new, 278-bed Freedmen's Hospital and thought only Howard University Medical School in the city had a promising future. In 1940, the hospital was transferred from the Department of the Interior to the

U.S. Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant ...

In 1967, Freedmen's Hospital was transferred to

and used as a hospital until 1975. The original Freedmen's building on Bryant Street still stands, although it now houses Howard University's John H. Johnson School of Communications. Freedmen's Hall, a permanent museum located at the University Hospital, is devoted to the history of

medical education Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, including the initial training to become a physician (i.e., medical school and internship) and additional training thereafter (e.g., residency, fellowship, ...

and health care at Howard University.

Modern facility

The University Hospital is now located in a modern facility at 2041

Georgia Avenue Georgia Avenue is a major north-south artery in Northwest Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland. Within the District of Columbia and a short distance in Silver Spring, Maryland, Georgia Avenue is also U.S. Route 29. Both Howard Unive ...

, NW, the former site of

, the home venue of the

Homestead Grays The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 by Cumberland Posey, and remained in continuo ...

, Washington Senators, and

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

. In February 2020 Howard University Hospital and

signed an agreement, to have Adventist HealthCare manage the hospital for three years. Anita L. A. Jenkins, former president of

Sycamore Medical Center Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry". Species of trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplata ...

, which is part of Kettering Health Network, will be the new chief executive of Howard University Hospital.

Departments

Howard contains the following departments: *Anesthesiology - The Department of Anesthesiology provides healthcare services to surgical, obstetric and emergency and pain management patients. *Community Health and Family Medicine - The Department of Community Health and Family Medicine provides care —from adult medicine to pediatrics. *Dentistry - The Department of Dentistry provides specialty services to patients, including evaluation and treatment, planning, oral cancer screenings, surgery and more. *Dermatology - The Department of Dermatology offers services in treating diseases of skin, hair and nails. It specializes in dermatological diseases of African Americans and other ethnic groups with dark skin. *Emergency Medicine - The Department of Emergency Medicine provides emergency care. It receives more than 60,000 patient visits annually. *Internal Medicine--The Department of Internal Medicine deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of adult diseases. *Neurology - The Department of Neurology provides neurological care across a wide range of ailments. It focuses on neurological disorders that primarily affect the African-American population and other minorities. *Obstetrics and Gynecology *Ophthalmology - The Department of Ophthalmology provides eye care services at one location to patients of all ages. *Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation - The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation offers surgical and nonsurgical treatments of injuries and diseases of the musculoskeletal system: bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles and nerves. *Pathology - The Department of Pathology and its laboratories provide clinical services relating to testing and diagnosing various life-threatening diseases, including cancers of the liver, throat, breast, reproductive system, respiratory system and gastrointestinal tract. *Pediatrics and Child Health - The Department of Pediatrics and Child Health provides services to children and adolescents, including neonatal and nursery services, preventive medicine through immunizations and certifications for school. *Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences provides services for the diagnosis and treatment of severely mentally ill patients and those with life issues, treatment of the deaf and mentally challenged and the diagnosis and treatment of addictive disorders. The Mood and Anxiety Behavioral and Neuroscience Center researches ways to prevent post-traumatic stress disorders, treats bipolar illnesses and provides treatment-resistant depression modalities. *Radiology - The Department of Radiology provides diagnostic imaging services to patients from newborn to geriatric whether they are inpatient or ambulatory. *Surgery - The Department of Surgery provides the complete range of surgical services, including surgical oncology, cardiovascular surgery, urological surgery, podiatry surgery, vascular and endovascular surgery, trauma surgery and neurosurgery. *The New Freedmen's Clinic - In 2009, Howard University Hospital began offering free medical treatment in a new clinic that is designed to care for low-income, uninsured patients. It is run, staffed and funded by medical students from the College of Medicine. Currently serving adults only, it opens weekly on Mondays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Medical students, overseen by attending physicians, treat patients by appointment and those referred by the hospital's Emergency Department as well as a limited number of walk-in patients.

References

External links

{{Authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1862 American Civil War hospitals Hospitals established in 1862 Closed installations of the United States Army Closed medical facilities of the United States Army Hospitals in Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War 1862 establishments in Washington, D.C. Historically black hospitals in the United States African-American history of Washington, D.C. Howard University buildings United States Marine Hospitals Trauma centers