A new cancer prevention facility aimed at reducing health disparities in D.C. opened in Ward 8 on Monday. The new Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention will primarily serve residents in Southeast D.C, where people experience higher death rates from cancer and where treatment is less available.

“This will undoubtedly save many lives,” said Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Wayne Turnage, who stood in for Mayor Muriel Bowser, adding that the center is a “vital part of a larger effort” underway to expand access to healthcare in this part of the city.

The facility is an extension of the Georgetown University Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and offers services such as early detection and treatment for some of the most common cancers in the city, including breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer. It’s part of a $25 million grant that the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation made to create or expand five cancer centers in underserved communities in the country. D.C.’s is the first of the five to open. Another grant recipient is the Memorial Sloan Kettering Ralph Lauren Center in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood and three other recipients are yet to be announced.

A disparity in healthcare services across the city contributes to the fact that life expectancy in D.C. can vary by decades depending on the neighborhood someone lives in. Southeast D.C. residents have a life expectancy that averages into their 60s and early 70s, while wealthier and whiter parts of the city have one that averages into their 80s and 90s.

Turnage said opening the center is “just the beginning of this challenge,” urging people to diligently seek routine screenings. “We must make sure these residents who are at risk of this awful disease embrace this center and the vital prevention services it will offer,” he said.

He added that many Ward 8 residents — about 90% of whom rely on Medicaid — don’t regularly seek appointments.

Seeking routine care can be challenging, however, says Jessica Tunon, a Ward 6 resident who received preventative care at Georgetown. Travel can be expensive if you don’t have a cancer services in your neighborhood. Getting the time and flexibility at work can also be difficult. While D.C. has permanent paid sick leave law, it doesn’t apply to all workers, including federal employees, students, and independent contractors like Tunon. And the U.S., unlike most industrialized nations, lacks national standards on paid sick leave.

“I think the best thing to do is really for employers to be more sensitive of this… so they have the time to have care and support,” she said.

Not having insurance also deters people from getting care. In D.C., about 4.1% of the population under the age of 65 is uninsured, according to the Census Bureau. And uninsured rates vary widely between racial groups, with Black residents being about twice as likely to be uninsured as white residents. Uninsured rates tend to be highest among Latinx residents.

The new cancer center offers services to people without insurance but Tunon said a lot of people might not seek care because they don’t know where to start and the process can be confusing. Tunon said she was nervous about seeking care initially, but that staff were friendly and helped her throughout every step.

Lucile Adams-Campbell, founding director of the Ralph Lauren Center, said the staff will be working to “meet people where they are” to connect them with care.

“The real work of this center happens in the community,” Adams-Campbell said. “And it includes venues such as churches, public housing, federally qualified health centers, local community clinics, homeless shelters, and grocery stores….this is our building but our work is there.”

In attendance at Monday’s opening were David Lauren — Ralph Lauren’s son and chief branding and innovation officer for the Ralph Lauren Corporation — and Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia.

Speakers alluded to President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot, a national goal of cutting the cancer death rate by at least 50% in the next 25 years. (Biden relaunched the initiative in 2022, after introducing it as vice president in 2016).

Lauren described that goal as not so much a ‘moonshot’ as one that is realistic and achievable.

“We hope that this becomes a model for what we can do nationwide,” Lauren said. “We want to inspire other people to get involved in this cause.”

The Ralph Lauren Center joins other new healthcare facilities opening in Ward 8, including the Cedar Hill Urgent Care Facility, the only urgent care center in the area serving adult patients. In early 2025, Ward 8 will also be welcoming the Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center on the campus of St. Elizabeths East.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the type of care Jessica Tunon received with Georgetown.