About Howard University Hospital

Howard University Hospital is one of America's best hospitals. The rich tradition of leadership and service at Howard University Hospital (HUH) dates back to 1862. Housed in converted army barracks, it was initially called Freedmen’s Hospital and provided a refuge where ex-slaves received the medical care they were denied elsewhere.

In the late 1860s, Freedmen’s formed a partnership with the Howard University College of Medicine to train African-American medical professionals. Together the medical school and the hospital have served as a training ground for many of the nation's top African-American physicians.

Over the course of its 145-year history of providing the finest primary, secondary and tertiary health care services, Howard University Hospital has become one of the most comprehensive health care facilities in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and designated a DC Level 1 Trauma Center.

A private, nonprofit institution, HUH is the nation's only teaching hospital located on the campus of a historically Black university. It offers medical students a superior learning environment and opportunities to observe or participate in ground-breaking clinical and research work with professionals who are changing the face of health care. Washingtonian and Black Enterprise magazines have identified physicians affiliated with the hospital as leaders in a vast range of specialties.

HUH Condensed History

1862
Freedmen's Hospital was created by an act of Congress to provide medical care for African-Americans (formerly enslaved and Union soldiers) coming to Washington D.C., after the Civil War. Freedmen’s was the first hospital of its kind and later became the major hospital for the area's expanding African American community.

1935
Notable physician Dr. Charles R. Drew joins the faculty at Howard University and serves as an assistant surgeon at Howard University Hospital. He would later discover blood plasma, which saved the lives of thousands of soldiers in World War 2.

1965
A new hospital is built on the former site of Griffith Stadium, which was in use from the 1890’s to 1965 as home of the first, second and third incarnations of the MLB Senators, as well as the NFL's Washington Redskins, several college football teams (including Georgetown, GWU and Maryland University) and part-time home of the Homestead Grays of the Negro National League.

1967
Freedmen's Hospital is transferred to Howard University due to its connection as a teaching/training hospital, serving as a pipeline for African American physicians in the nation.

1971
A new a state-of-the-art facility breaks ground at 2041 Georgia Avenue, NW Washington D.C.

1974
Dr. Clive O. Callender creates the Howard University Hospital Transplant Center.

1975
Howard University Hospital opens to the local community with more than 400 beds in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington D.C.

1990
Howard University Hospital is designated as a Level I Trauma Center, serving the needs of D.C.’s most vulnerable populations.

2001
Howard University Hospital becomes the safety net hospital for the District of Columbia after the closure of D.C. General Hospital.

2019
Howard University Hospital introduces Robotic Surgery.

2020
Howard University Hospital signs a Management Services Agreement with Montgomery County-based Adventist HealthCare to manage the hospital for three years.

2024
Dr. Roger A. Mitchell is appointed as the new president of Howard University Hospital.

HUH at a Glance

Howard University Hospital (Previously known as Freedmen’s Hospital) was established in 1862, catering to the medical needs of thousands of African Americans soldiers who migrated to Washington during and after the Civil War. It was the first hospital of its kind to provide medical treatment for former enslaved persons, and later became the major hospital for Washington’s African American community. In 1869, the hospital moved to property owned by Howard University at the corner of Fifth and W Streets, NW. At that time, Freedmen’s Hospital began its affiliation with Howard University, serving as the teaching hospital for the university’s College of Medicine. In 1967, Congress granted Howard University full control of Freedmen’s Hospital. In 1975, the university built a new hospital on the site of the old Griffith Stadium.

D.C. Safety Net Hospital

Providing essential medical care to all residents of the District of Columbia, regardless of their ability to pay, serving as a critical resource for underserved populations, including the uninsured, underinsured, Medicaid recipients, and other vulnerable groups.

Notable Surgeons – Dr. Alexander T. Augusta, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, Dr. William A. Warfield, Jr., Dr. Charles R. Drew, Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr. Dr. Clive O. Callender, Dr. Edward Cornwell, Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick

Accolades

American College of Surgeons Verified Level-I Trauma Center
Gold-Plus Target Award Hospital for Strokes
Gold-Plus Hospital for Heart Specialties
American Academy of Sleep Medicine Accreditation
Stop the Bleed “Active Shooter” Training for DC Public Schools
American Society for Metabolic and the Bariatric Surgery Accreditation
American College of Radiology Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Accreditation
American College of Radiology Mammogram Accreditation
Joint Commission Accreditation