MedStar Georgetown University Hospital announced a $50 million gift Monday that will support the ongoing construction of a new medical pavilion at the D.C. hospital.
The gift is being made by venture capital investor Grant Verstandig and the Verstandig Family Foundation. Upon the pavilion's completion in 2023, the new pavilion will bear Verstandig's name.
“This philanthropic gift is an ideal way for me to reinforce my strong interest in advancing excellence in health care throughout our region and beyond,” Verstandig said in a statement. “I hope my commitment will inspire others to join me in making a difference in the lives of others.”
MedStar billed the donation as one of the largest philanthropic gifts ever made to health care in Greater Washington.
The 477,213-square-foot pavilion is to include 156 private patient rooms, a rooftop helipad with direct access to 31 operating rooms and 32 exam rooms in a new emergency department. The pavilion is also aimed at growing specialty services for complex diseases in several fields, including oncology, gastroenterology, neurology, orthopedics and organ transplants.
Verstandig is behind Rally Health, a consumer-centric digital health company that was acquired by UnitedHealth Group Inc. in 2017, as well as power management company Epirus Inc., AI health platform Zephyr AI and health-focused investment and incubation platform Red Cell Partners. He's also a senior adviser on analytics, technology and AI to the National Security Agency and serves on boards at NexImmune Inc., the Greater Washington Partnership, the International Spy Museum and the Third Option Foundation, which benefits the CIA's special operations community.
His interest in health care stems in part from his experience as a patient, where a knee injury he suffered ultimately required 16 surgeries. That ordeal led to his interest in seeking cutting-edge health care operations and technologies to improve care, he said in MedStar's announcement of the gift.
“I believe in the positive and profound impact that innovation and technology can have on medical facilities and treatments, and I am proud to support the development of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital’s world-class Medical/Surgical Pavilion that will impact people for generations to come,” he said in his statement.
The donation builds on an earlier gift from the Verstandig Family Foundation to MedStar Health — $750,000 to support the procurement of personal protective equipment for staff, as well as funding to enhance the MedStar Health Mobile Health Center, which has distributed Covid-19 vaccines throughout the Baltimore-Washington region.
You can learn more about the many hospital construction projects in Greater Washington here.
Verbatim
“We want to make sure residents that are here are not being pushed out. I have a record to run on. I’m running to make sure the streets of Ward 5 are safe and we can maintain being an attraction to residents.” — Former D.C. Chamber CEO and former D.C. Council member Vincent Orange, to The Washington Post, discussing his decision to run once again for the D.C. Council. Axios first reported that Orange filed paperwork to run for the Ward 5 seat being vacated by Kenyan McDuffie, who is running for D.C. attorney general.
Odds and ends
- Metro is proposing to lower late-night fares and weekly and monthly passes under a new plan that seeks to win back riders while putting more emphasis on leisure trips. (Washington Post)
- Montgomery County is now considering reimposing an indoor mask mandate next week instead of this week. (Bethesda Magazine)
- Rev. Jesse Jackson was hospitalized on Monday after falling and hitting his head at Howard University. The longtime civil rights leader, who turned 80 last month, was on campus to meet with university officials and students as protests continue over the condition of residence halls at the school. (CNN)
- D.C. has set up a new online portal for residents to upload their at-home Covid-19 test results. (WTOP)
- American Airlines, which has a hub at Reagan National Airport, canceled hundreds more flights Monday, after canceling nearly 2,000 over the weekend, citing weather and staffing shortages. (Wall Street Journal)
- The newest doll in the American Girl doll series is a biracial environmentalist from D.C. (Washington Post)
- A Popeye's restaurant on Capitol Hill was shut down after a viral TikTok video showed rats inside the restaurant. (Washingtonian)
