Washington, D.C

Health Care

The major health-care institution in the Washington, D.C., area is Georgetown University Medical Center, which encompasses a hospital, a physician practice, research facilities, a nursing school, a cancer center, and an institute for neuroscience research. In its centenary year, the university hospital, founded in 1898, had 335 staffed beds and recorded 14,603 admissions and 175,322 outpatient visits. More than 2,000 persons were employed at the facility. Altogether, the healthcare system affiliated with the university offers services by 1,500 providers at 18 facilities in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

Children's National Medical Center, an integrated health-care system dedicated solely to treating children, is recognized internationally as a leader in pediatric care. Its medical staff of more than 200 consists of faculty members at the George Washington University School of Medicine.

Washington, D.C., is also home to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the U.S. army's largest health-care facility.

In 1995, the Washington, D.C., metropolitan statistical area was served by 9,627 office-based physicians and 42 community hospitals, with a total of 9,836 beds.