Columbia Hospital history

After the landlord cancelled the lease in 1870, the hospital moved to another former private residence, the Tench Ringgold House at 25th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The hospital would stay at its new location for the rest of its existence.

The first woman Marine: In 1918, she couldn’t vote but rushed to serve

In 1919, it established a formal prenatal care program.

Two years later, it launched a prenatal clinic, one of the first in the country — and in 1925, it became the first hospital to identify babies by their footprints.

Growing up, he often visited Columbia Women’s with his mother, who continued as a patient there after his birth in 1983.

Richard Scott, a Kansas City, Missouri, native and graduate of the University of Missouri and Southern Methodist University Law School, was 34 years old when he teamed up with Richard Rainwater, a Fort Worth financier, to form the Columbia Healthcare Corporation in 1987.

From this move, EPHS increased the average daily census at its other facilities by 35 patients, bringing an earnings (EBDIT) increase of $3.5 million, to $8.9 million EBDIT on 1988 revenues of $43 million.

In 1989, EPHS introduced its One Source medical services program, marketing to major area employers, which provided discounts at EPHS system facilities.

By 1990, however, EPHS formed only part of Columbia’s growing empire.

By the end of 1992, Columbia’s network had grown to 24 hospitals and over $1 billion in assets.

By 1993, Scott, known to keep a paperweight on his desk reading “If you are not the lead dog, the view never changes,” was ready to launch Columbia as a national healthcare provider.

The Healthtrust merger was completed in April 1995, with Healthtrust stockholders receiving 0.88 Columbia shares for each share of Healthtrust stock.

By the beginning of 1996, Columbia/HCA had grown to 340 hospitals, 125 outpatient surgery centers, and a range of other healthcare facilities, including 182 home health agencies, with 70,000 licensed beds in 36 states, and England and Switzerland.

The hospital had struggled with funding over the years, filing for bankruptcy in 1998.

Many people share Lawson-Brown’s nostalgia for the hospital, which served the D.C. area for 136 years before shuttering in 2002 because of a lack of funds.

In 2006, Columbia Women’s was converted to a high-end condominium complex.

For continuation, see http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2016/08/the-columbia-hospital-caring-for.html

Bowens said the hospital, if open today, would help Washington combat its “myriad maternal health challenges.” According to government data, 36 women died for every 100,000 live births in Washington as of 2018.