DC officials broke ground Thursday on a new hospital set to open in Ward 8 – the first hospital to be built in the District in over 20 years.

Mayor Muriel Bowser, Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray and Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White each spoke at a ceremony on the St. Elizabeths East Campus.

“This is the start of a new chapter for health care in Washington, DC, especially for our neighborhoods east of the river,” Bowser said. “And I hope the message we’re sending is loud and clear: while DC government is rightfully getting out of the business of running a hospital, we are fully present at St. Elizabeths East and fully committed to all the Washingtonians who will come to the Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health to get world-class care. ”

The hospital will be called Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health, named in honor of Frederick Douglass’ historic residence in Anacostia, officials announced.

Cedar Hill is planned, in part, to help alleviate health care inequities in wards 7 and 8. The full-service facility will have 136 beds, clinics and community space. It will be staffed by physicians and practitioners from George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Children’s National Hospital.

The new hospital will replace United Medical Center after years of problems there. Its maternity ward closed in 2017.

Plans for the hospital are significant, including for maternity patients, Ward 8 ANC Commissioner Salim Adofo said.

“To know that there is not a space, especially for young Black and Latina women, to give birth in the city here is really disheartening. Now that this great opportunity is here, people can stay right here in their own neighborhoods, ”he said.

The hospital is set to open in December 2024, the mayor’s office said.

Go here to learn more about the District’s plans for the hospital.