Today, the Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) announced that the Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP) has executed a contract to procure the professional services of Huron. Effective May 15, 2017, DHCF’s six month $995,815.00 contract is initiated to support the planning underway by the Office of the City Administrator to develop a comprehensive proposal for a new, financially viable, hospital east of the river. This investment aligns with Mayor Muriel Bowser’s vision to work with the District’s health care providers to establish a new hospital and robust network of care that provides residents living in Wards 7 and 8 with access to high quality health care.

Huron is a global professional services firm that brings depth of experience in strategy, operations, advisory services, technology and analytics to the health care industry, in addition to the higher education, life sciences and commercial sectors. The scope of the consulting work for this project will include the following activities:

• An analysis of changes in national health care policy -- reimbursement, technology, new approaches to health care delivery -- and how these changes are likely to impact future inpatient admission rates, average lengths of stay, use of outpatient care, and emergency room visits in the District of Columbia;
• A market analysis on inpatient and outpatient trends for other health care systems in the District of Columbia to inform recommendations on the most optimal design option for a new acute care hospital in the primary service areas for Wards 7 and 8 in light of these trends and evolving health care policy;
• An assessment of the range of financing options available to the District of Columbia which offer the highest value with least risk; and
• An assessment of the possibility of viable partnership arrangements for the District, along with an analysis of the various management archetypes for a new hospital which ultimately removes the District from its current role of hospital operator.

As a premier provider of clinical and performance improvement solutions for hospitals and health systems, Huron has worked with more than 350 national, regional and community hospitals, integrated health care systems, academic medical centers and physician practices. Huron has significant knowledge of the District’s health care marketplace including through extensive prior work with the United Medical Center and a review of partnership options.

The consulting work planned for this project will conclude in November 2017 with a comprehensive report to the Office of the City Administrator that addresses the issues identified in the aforementioned project scope.