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Bruno Petinaux, MD, has served as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at The George Washington University Hospital (GW Hospital) for nearly a decade.
Dr. Petinaux’s first experience with GW Hospital was during his emergency residency training there, where he finished as chief resident. He earned his medical degree at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College from the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Dr. Petinaux also has a military background with the United States Army Reserve.
Here, Dr. Petinaux discusses how to decide whether you require a visit to an urgent care center or emergency department, as well as some of the many ways GW Hospital offers standout care in the community.
Q: Some people may be confused about whether their medical conditions require a visit to an ER versus an urgent care. How would you give recommendations or advice on which facility to visit?
A: Patients should visit an urgent care for illnesses and conditions that they would usually see their primary care provider for when that provider is unavailable. It could be a rash, sprained ankle, urinary tract infection or sore throat; something that you do need to be seen for, but nothing that would be critical or life threatening.
Urgent care centers can perform simple X-rays or laboratory tests. A diagnosis can be made and a prescription is written for the patient to get the care they need, in an environment that is urgent, and allows them to continue with their journey to better health.
Q: When should patients seek the next level of care in an emergency room?
A: The emergency department is the appropriate place for symptoms like chest pains and abdominal pains, headaches that don’t resolve, difficulty breathing and other concerning symptoms for which you really should seek care in an emergency department. Emergency departments have additional testing capabilities and can admit into the hospital to perform surgeries, if that is what you need. These are all things that an urgent care would not be able to provide.
Q: What makes GW Hospital stand out in the community?
A: GW Hospital has a longstanding history as an academic medical center. We provide very complex medical care at the same level as many large medical centers across this country. We do so, though, in a relatively smaller footprint and environment which allows us to really know everybody that’s in our building. I am very familiar with almost all the team members at the hospital. I believe this allows our patients to have a more personalized experience, as we really are patient centric and focused on the care that we provide.
We are proud to provide complex medical care from a cardiac, neurological and trauma perspective. We take care of stroke and heart attack patients, as well as provide kidney, pancreas and liver transplant services. Our labor and delivery services continue to perform high-risk deliveries.
We serve everybody that comes through our doors — anybody that’s local, might be visiting from out of town — anybody that needs our help. Our goal is to provide care within the community, rather than ask patients to travel to seek the care that they need.
That’s why GW Hospital is proud to be part of a comprehensive, integrated network of care built on excellence. The network includes Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health, Cedar Hill Urgent Care GW Health and the Fletcher-Johnson Freestanding Emergency Department in Ward 7, scheduled to open in 2029.
Q: How does GW Hospital help the community through its support of the District of Columbia Whole Blood Initiative?
A: GW Hospital partnered with DC Fire and EMS to provide blood transfusions as needed in the field to patients that require pre-hospital, life-saving interventions very early on in that golden hour of trauma to survive critical injuries.
We’ve seen some amazing results. The program started in April 2024. By the end of April 2025, 248 patients received more than 266 units of blood with an overall survival rate of 86 percent. The survival for those not found in cardiac arrest was 96 percent. That data comes from DC Fire and EMS Department reporting.
At GW Hospital, we are very proud to be able to support such activities, as they really impact the care that we provide in our community.
Let the GW Hospital family care for you and yours.
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Physicians are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of The George Washington University Hospital. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. For language assistance, disability accommodations and the nondiscrimination notice, visit our website.
