Washington, D.C.  – Today, Councilmember David Catania (At-Large) joined Mayor Adrian Fenty, Council Chairman Vincent Gray, and representatives from United Medical Center (UMC) and Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC) to begin construction on a new $14 million dollar pediatric emergency room (PER) located at UMC.  The PER will be operated by CNMC, one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals.  Once complete, it will be the first PER to be located east of the Anacostia River.  It is also the latest example of the District’s unprecedented health care investment in Ward 8.

“Ward 8 will soon be home to one of the most advanced and best equipped pediatric emergency rooms in the entire country,” said Catania.  “Over the past few years, the District has invested heavily into the health care of this community.  When this project is completed, parents and children who live ‘East of the River’ will have world-class emergency care located nearby.”

The PER is the result of an $11 million grant from the District’s tobacco settlement fund.  UMC and CNMC will dedicate $3 million towards the project.  In 2007, the District entered into a $79 million public-private partnership with Specialty Hospitals of America for the purchase of then Greater Southeast Community Hospital.  Since its sale in November 2007, the hospital has witnessed tens of millions of dollars of capital investment, as well as the addition of services and personnel.

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