George Washington University’s physicians, practitioners, and medical faculty will be providing staffing at the new hospital at St. Elizabeths East and two new urgent care facilities opening in wards 7 and 8, Mayor Muriel Bowser and university leaders announced Thursday. The agreement is meant to provide care to adults in Southeast D.C., who have long had access to just one hospital east of the Anacostia River.

The announcement marks the finalization of a partnership between GW’s School of Medicine and Health Science, GW Medical Faculty Associates, and Universal Health Services, which will manage the 136-bed hospital under a 75-year lease. (Disclosure: This reporter is an adjunct instructor at GW’s School of Media & Public Affairs, which was not involved with the deal.) After years of false starts, the D.C. Council approved the $375 million deal last year. The hospital is expected break ground in early 2022 and open in late 2024.

“We know that right now too many residents travel across town to access their health care,” Bowser said in a statement. “With the talented medical professionals from GW staffing the new hospital, thousands of Washingtonians will be able to get the right care at the right time in a world-class hospital close to home.”

United Medical Center is the only hospital in Southeast, and the facility has not only struggled financially, but its poor management has sometimes led to patient injury or death — the city shut down UMC’s obstetrics ward in 2017. UMC will continue to operate until the new hospital opens at St Elizabeths.

The new hospital and ambulatory pavilion will include a family medicine residency and provide maternal and child health services, behavioral health services, a trauma center, and primary care, along with a host of other services. An FAQ web page for the hospital says it will “look, feel, and function much like Johns Hopkins Sibley Memorial Hospital.”

Early in September, Bowser announced that Children’s National Hospital will provide care for the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit and pediatric emergency department, serving infants, children, and teenagers.

The new hospital represents a major change for the majority-Black wards east of the river. Health outcomes and life expectancy are significantly worse for Black residents in D.C., according to a 2016 Georgetown University study — a fact that has especially come to light during the pandemic, when Black residents have died at much higher rates due to COVID-19 than their white counterparts.

Kimberly Russo, a senior vice president at University Health Services and GW Hospital’s CEO, said in a press release that the partnership represents a fully integrated medical network for hospitals across the District.

“We look forward to bringing these vital services East of the Anacostia River as we remain steadfastly committed to improving health access, equity and outcomes for all individuals living in our nation’s capital,” she said.