Howard University will receive $276.6 million in public financing after the DC Council approved an agreement to construct a $450 million academic teaching hospital to replace Howard University Hospital.
The hospital, which will stand across 600,000 square feet, may open as soon as 2026 and will have 225 beds. Adventist Healthcare, based in Gaithersberg, Maryland will manage the facility.
The funds will be handled mainly in the form of tax abatement.
Concerns on Conflict of Interest
Approval seemed unlikely after a former DC government administrator, Rashad Young, discussed pursuing a job with Howard University after negotiating the tax breaks and public funding for the new hospital. His decision to approach the university about the job raised questions on conflict of interest.
DC’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, requested an ethics board review of Young’s conduct. The board ruled that while Young committed “inadvertent” violations, he did not act improperly while carrying out hospital negotiations. He has been fined $2,500.
“In retrospect, the Respondent should have recused himself from matters involving the University on July 14, 2020 after that meeting, even though he believed that his work on the matter had formally ceased and he could not make any substantive changes to the legislation,” the board said.
Timeline of Events
In August 2019, Young worked on the proposed construction of the new University Hospital. In April of this year, the District agreed to provide a $225 million tax abatement to the university for building the new hospital.
Young continued to work on the bill throughout June and the findings of the ethics board stated that he “fully believed” his work on the project was done. Later in July, The President of Howard University Wayne Frederick contacted Young about a position at the university.
While Frederick and Young were meeting on July 14, a university employee who was unaware of their correspondence sent proposed amendments to DC officials with edits to the bill. This also included a proposal to increase the tax abatement to $314 million.
When the Office of the City Administrator contacted Young later that night for the amendments, Young confirmed that he would not support it before the city council. He then contacted Frederick and informed him likewise.