WASHINGTON (7News) — 7News first reported on serious staffing and care issues at Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center last fall.
The district promoted the public/private partnership as life-changing for an underserved area of DC that was in desperate need of a state-of-the-art hospital.
However, 7News uncovered that Cedar Hill is still plagued by problems, and as some see it, falling short of its promise.
“We’re talking about $434 million in taxes raised to (for) this hospital,” said Ward 8 Councilman Trayon White. “Universal Health Services has not done a great job providing quality services.”
Months after Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center opened, 7News reported on documented violations related to patient care.
Thursday, 7News discovered issues at the hospital have gotten the attention of city leaders.
“If you’re going to sit up here and invest all this money into the hospital and put it here as we advocated for, then again, do right by the people,” said Ward 8 Board Education member and mother LaJoy Johnson- Law. “If you promised A, B, C, D, and E, then the community deserves A, B, C, D, and E.”
Johnson- Law brought her daughter to Cedar Hill for care. However, after a 9.5-hour wait, Johnson–Law said Cedar sent her to another hospital because they couldn’t treat the girl.
“It really does hurt because everybody wants this hospital to be so successful,” Johnson- Law said. “And it still can be.”
7News spoke with Councilman Trayon White on Thursday, not long after what he calls an intense meeting with the hospital board. White said Cedar Hill does not have the staff or the systems.
“We’ve had more services at United Medical Center than we have in this hospital,” said White. “We’re short almost 500 employees, the fully staffed, this hospital.”
Councilman white also told 7News the hospital is losing millions right now.
“The billing has not been correct since the hospital opened,” said White.
7News asked the councilman if he would feel comfortable sending a family member there.
“Depending on the issue,” said White.
White and Johnson-Law aren’t the only city leaders wanting answers about what’s going on at Cedar Hill.
7News learned that multiple council members have sent letters to the hospital asking the same questions.
Councilman white also suggested D.C. leaders might call hospital administrators to testify about the situation before the full city council.
7News reached out to G.W. Health, which runs Cedar Hill in partnership with Universal Health Services, but did not hear back from them in time for this report.
Violence may seem to be rising in D.C., but police say there is no citywide surge.
According to police, the violence has been in short, intense bursts, driven by conflicts between small groups.
Homicide numbers in the District are down this year, but this sudden burst of violence is raising new questions.
Police report 18 homicides to date for 2026. This is in comparison to 41 this time last year – which is a 56 percent drop.
But since April 1, MPD report seven homicides, including Tuesday’s murders of two boys ages 12 and 13.
“We’re still processing the scene but we do know there were a large number of shots fired in a very small period of time,” said MPD Police Chief Jeffrery Carroll at the Tuesday shooting scene.
SEE ALSO | Second boy dies in shooting near Northeast DC convenience store; $50K reward offered
So why now?
Police say this isn’t random. Instead, it’s targeted violence, driven by conflicts between small groups of people.
The kind of disputes that can quickly spiral.
“Over the past week, we’ve seen an increase in fatal shootings. It appears to be interpersonal violence between groups of individuals,” added Carroll.
With easy access to guns, even minor disputes can turn deadly – even with police seizing between 40 to 50 firearms in a typical week.
MPD said in 2025 they removed almost 3,000 guns off the streets.
In addition, with the warmer weather more people are gathering outdoors.
Cities often see short-term spring or summer spikes in crime.
Furthermore, MPD says the violence is concentrated in specific neighborhoods, especially parts of the southeast.
To combat spikes in crime, MPD will often respond by flooding high-crime hot spots with officers – which this year has meant federal agents, including ATF, Secret Service, and the National Guard.
Even with the recent spike in murders, D.C. remains on track for one of its lowest homicide years in decades.
A D.C. police officer was arrested and charged with sexual solicitation of a minor and child pornography.
Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Matthew Mahl, who previously served as chairman of the D.C. Police Union, was arrested in Harford County, Maryland.
MPD revoked Mahl’s police powers and placed him on administrative leave, a spokesperson said. The Harford County Sheriff’s Office contacted MPD’s internal affairs division shortly after he was arrested, they said.
“The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing, and in direct contrast to the values of the Metropolitan Police Department. MPD’s Internal Affairs Division will investigate violations of MPD policy once the criminal investigation concludes,” a statement said.
Court records show Mahl is being held without bond and is scheduled for a bond review hearing on Wednesday.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
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The 2026 USU Summer Meeting is a premier convening for presidents and chancellors of public, urban-serving research institutions who are often at the forefront of innovation within higher education. This meeting will be hosted in downtown Washington, DC on June 16, 2026, from 12:00 – 4:45 pm, in association with APLU’s Council of Presidents summer convening.
Please direct any questions to usucoalition@aplu.org.
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