Part of a massive economic redevelopment project is expanding the reach of health care to D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood in a state-of-the-art facility.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday morning, Mayor Muriel Bowser said the opening of the new Whitman-Walker Max Robinson Center is a critical part of the development of the St. Elizabeth’s East campus, where a new hospital is scheduled to open in 2025.
Beneath a rainbow arch made of brightly colored balloons, Bowser told the crowd gathered for the center’s ribbon-cutting that the opening of the new center is part of a larger $900 million investment in the Anacostia neighborhood.
The aim, she said, “is that we have a healthier, more equitable and more prosperous Washington, D.C. and that the people across all eight wards can benefit from it.”
The expansion of the Whitman-Walker Max Robinson Center will be able to provide dental, primary and HIV care to residents.
Ward 8 Council member Trayon White said Whitman-Walker has long served the most vulnerable members of the community, with specialized care for the LGBTQ+ community.
“When it wasn’t popular, when no one was catering to that population,” White said, adding that the center “has been a pillar doing the work.”
Dr. Stephen Abbott, medical director of the Whitman-Walker Max Robinson Center, emphasized that the facility serves the entire community. “Although folks may have seen the old site as being the AIDS clinic, this new site offers an array of services for everyone.”
Abbot called seeing the new facility, which includes eight dental suites, 40 exam rooms and a psychotherapy suite, “overwhelming” — and he said it made him intensely proud.
“It speaks to Whitman-Walker’s commitment to the mission. A lot of folks talk about wanting to improve health care throughout the city, but we’re actually doing it,” he said.
Also attending was Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Deborah Wells, who emphasized the medical care available at the new center “is for the whole community, not just one part of the community.”
Prior to the opening of the new facility, the Whitman-Walker Max Robinson Center operated in a smaller space in Ward 8 where Wells proudly said she’s been getting her health care since 2008.
“As a matter of fact, I’m still with them,” she said. “I had to come here a couple of weeks ago to get my blood drawn.”
The redevelopment includes District Townhomes, a men’s shelter, and the Sycamore & Oak retail complex along with a sports arena. A new hospital, the Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health facility, is set to open in 2025.
