The George Washington University

I visited GWU today although I’ve been coming here for a while for follow up appointments through my doctor. My overall experience today was good. They were running a bit behind in regards to patient appointments but the staff were friendly and helpful. After my appointment I visited the cafeteria and the food wasn’t bad either and the price was reasonable given how much it costs to eat in the city period. I’ve read the other reviews below but I can only go on the way I was personally treated. I would return here again for future reference.

This place is beyond evil. Mysterious extra charges weeks after an extremely simple hospital visit for a shoulder pain, was seen by the doctor for only less than a minute, with no exams no procedures. And then I co-​paid the $ 100 with my health insurance policy. After that visit, I still got hundreds of dollars of charges in the mail. This hospital is beyond evil. Avoid at all cost.

I was taken to GWU Hospital on an emergency basis with complete heart block. From the emergency room, to the ICU, to the cath lab for surgery, and then to a regular room, the entire staff of doctors, nurses and techs gave me outstanding care. I cannot recommend this hospital highly enough. Dr. Allan Solomon, Dr. Cynthia Tracy, and all the team, thank you for superb treatment.

I’m sorry who called this a hospital?
I would refer to it as a death trap.
Have never seen any healthcare professional (nurse, doctor, technician) ever care less about any human being before.
The incompetent of the nurses, administration and staff at this hospital will kill people. Go to any other hospital in DC for your own safety.
A friend of mine went into the ER because she thought she had been drugged. She had 2 glasses of wine in 4 hours and could not remember where she was or what was going on. For 3 hours in the ER — all they did was give her a cup of water and not allow any visitors. They did not draw blood to test for the date rape drug despite her request. They told her she was drunk and discharged her an hour later.
Yes she had alcohol — she’s of legal age. Having a glass or two of wine doesn’t negate everything you say.
Nonetheless — she went to a real healthcare provider the next morning, got blood drawn and turns out it was positive. This poor girl could have been raped due to the low life, excuses for human beings that pretend to work at this god awful building they somehow pan off as a «hospital».

This hospital is terrible. I’ve only been in the ER, so I can’t speak for the rest of it, but it is a nightmare. I went for a kidney issue and came out with pneumonia. The doctors do the absolute bare minimum to make sure you don’t die, and then they send you home. Pretty sure my blood is still on the floor of room 18.

I wouldn’t recommend this hospital to my most hated enemy. I had an awful endocrinologist, this woman seriously was apathetic and just rude. I’d never experience such horrible service from a doctor. I ended up spending more money and went to a private practice.

Worst experience at an emergency room ever. I was in DC for work and developed bronchitis. I arrived at the ER at around midnight with difficulty breathing. I was taken back approximately 45 minutes later. Never saw a doctor or received treatment until after the shift change at 3:30am when the new nurse realized I had not been seen. I had been standing most of those hours because I couldn’t breathe when I laid down. I had asked for something for my cough and was told «we are only nurses and can’t do anything.» When I finally received care from the doctor and nurse at 4:30am they were caring and gave me appropriate treatment.

*** GW HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM (abbreviated: ER) should be avoided ****
In an ambulance, a patient has the right to tell the ambulance personnel what hospital to take you — and every patient should take advantage of that right. If not able to communicate, have a note (where you store your driver’s license) with hospital name and also the emergency contact’s name and phone number.
My recommendation is to go to Washington Hospital emergency room. Reasons are at the bottom of this post.
*** Let’s Start With the Bottom Line: Fuck You! ****
I am sick and tired of the fucked up emergency room. As a longtime Washingtonian, I have received treatment five times in GW emergency room, each time more fucked up than the last.
I would like to especially give a big fuck you to the attending/​chief physician of the emergency room. Fuck you for unprofessional behavior, inaccurate discharge instructions, uninformed discharge nurse, and an exceptionally long time for treatment of your patients.
I hope that The Joint Commission reads this review. the ER deserves a failed audit. The ER deserves to lose your accreditation.
*** OMG!!! ******** The extensive length in time ***
*** (and failure to handle basic requests for information) ***
To illustrate, last night’s visit 3 hours in the waiting room, 2 additional hours sitting in the ER bed, seen by a medical student (not a doctor) and a physician assistant (not a doctor).
THANK YOU FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT! They didn’t know a damn thing about what is going on. i need a board-​certified emergency room physician.
The Entertainment didn’t even ask me my name. The entertainment didn’t know the name of the specialist i need to see. When I asked, they flat out refused to find out the specialist’s name. Really, is that how you handle patients by withholding information on the name of my doctor?
*** oh my god! *** Staff said what? ***
Get this — they literally said — and i am not shitting you — they said that «we are changing shifts and i am going home after i see you.»
After two more hours of boredom (except for the guy singing Rick Jame’s song «Mary Jane»), I was then seen by a specialist (who was exceptionally good — thank God for ophthalmology private practice). Treatment took about an hour but it was the good part.
Then, I waited for another 3 hours to get discharged by the attending/​chief of the emergency room — which is a requirement to get the hell out of there.
*** 7 pm arrival and 4 am discharge ***
And, it was a hell of a longtime for no one — did i say no one? — to check in on me … except for the staff who empties the trash.
The Emergency Room was essentially empty. There were no «code blue» announcements (urgent care patients) during the duration of my stay.
*** Get ready for the bad part — It’s going to get ugly ***
What pissed me off is that the attending/​chief physician must not understand or didn’t even talk to the specialist regarding the treatment plan.
After three more hours, the attending/​chief physician of the Emergency Room was absolutely wrong in the discharge instruction that he/​she approved. The «notes» must be entered in the electronic medical record prior to discharge. Every patient should get the «notes» since you should verify and correct the medical record for inaccurate information that could lead to potentially harmful treatment plan.
My «notes» are part of my medical record. I absolutely know my rights and I absolutely believe that this is a systematic (i wish i could underline that word) issue in the process of Emergency Room operations!
The discharge nurse flat out refused to give me the «notes» that is part of my medical record. She flat out refused to get an Emergency Room physician since they obviously don’t have a team-​based discharge process (that includes a physician).
*** The specialist says fuck you too ***
ok — well, fuck you isn’t completely accurate. The discharge instructions says to see the specialist on the very next day
Hey wait, it’s 4 am so that must be the same day — right?
I show up to the specialist’s office, absolutely exhausted. The specialist (who was the same specialist in the Emergency room) said that the discharge instructions is not the treatment plan. The specialist even said that the attending/​chief physican was fucking wrong. If i had the «notes,» i could of addressed the situation prior to discharge. Fortunately, I was not charged for the visit to the specialist.
*** My recommendation: Go to Washington Hospital emergency room ***
Washington Hospital has exceptional customer serve. The Emergency Room staff anticipated and delivered every need I had (even some I hadn’t thought of). They have an exceptional patient workflow to keep you moving forward to find treatment.
They have a team-​based discharge process that includes the Emergency Room physician. The group discussion was exceptionally helpful.

I made an appointment with Dr. Vivek Jain and was given a date 7 weeks away. I asked that I please be contacted if there were a cancellation. The gentleman that responded said that they said they do not have a waiting list. I suggested that they start one because it’s inconvenient (to say the least) for me to call every single day and they probably would not want a barrage of calls from every single patient wanting a sooner appointment.
The response: they don’t mind being called and that other patients do so.
How little effort would it take to start writing names on a piece of paper? Poor initiative and customer service.

Nice Campus, and professional staff. I have no complaints. Nurses were kind and efficient, and the hospital itself was clean. Highly organized admin staff with checking in, insurance, and release.

The Hospital itself is good — I find the staff professional and thanks to it’s academic affiliation it’s on the cutting edge. However the scheduling service they use is so terrible that it takes away from all of that.
I am supposed to have a screening that is simple and routine for the hospital and medical network of GW medical faculty. The scheduling line has been unavailable for three weeks — if you call them you are put on an endless loop of «Thank you for calling GW’s Univ. Hospital’s pre-​registration and scheduling dept. All representatives are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold or press one to schedule a call back within 24 hours.»
If this message doesn’t make you crazy after 5 minutes you’re a stronger person than I. Some nice elevator music would be a huge relief and at least allow for multi tasking. No one ever picks up. I’ve called every two or three days in the morning, midday, mid-​afternoon and evening. I have a strong inclination to give up, but know that’s ill advised.
Occasionally someone calls back many hours later who sounds quite friendly on my voicemail, but I am invariably in a meeting when they do, if they call back at all. How many people who work are free when it’s convenient for the scheduling line to talk about why they need an abdominal ultrasound or a colonoscopy?
What if I had cancer or a blood clot and delayed diagnosis because I couldn’t make an appointment? It doesn’t make sense for very ill or elderly people to have to try to deal with this. A compassionate system of care has to include systems that allow people to schedule procedures and make appointments.
I am more than happy to revise my review if this can be resolved.

This hospital is on my «safe, if shot» list. That’s right, I’ve compiled and distributed to family members a list of hospitals that I am not to be taken to even if I am shot directly in front of them. This hospital is not on that list and for good reason.
For starters, I was born here (well the old building). That alone makes it a historical landmark. When you add the fact that my daughter was also born here (and on my birthday, no less), this place becomes one of the seven wonders of the world.
The way I see it: I was born here, so any health problems are on them. And talk about a warranty program! When I found out that I had a genetic heart defect, a nice doctor spent eight hours threading a wire through the veins in my leg to those in my heart.
Now, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a teaching hospital, and some people may find the presence of 10 med students annoying, but not me. When I went to the ER a few months ago, I actually felt important… like I was on an episode of House as each one of them took turns asking me questions.
Of course you can opt-​out of them coming in, but why would you? They have to learn, and they’re fun. When I had my heart «surgery» done, I agreed to let them come in on the condition that they sang along to Purple Rain (it was playing in the O.R.) until the anesthesia kicked in. Some of them were pretty good, although there was one who was clearly lip syncing. I passed out before I could tell him about himself.
In summation: worth a chance if you get shot, me and the kid were born there, great backup singers in the O.R., AWESOME Labor and Delivery staff!

The ER at GWH sucks. The employees are rude and super slow and understands nothing about an emergency. They take their time and makes you wait even when urgent care is needed. Ofc, if I had that kind of time I would’ve waited to go to my actual physician the next day instead. Try going to another hospital instead. WORST HOSPITAL AND ER ROOM EVER. AVOID.

This place is ⁵⁰⁄₅₀. After arriving, everyone moved pretty fast and I was sent to the back pretty quick. Once I got to the back I was met by a doctor on duty that seemed like he didn’t want to be there. He quickly left out the room and sending another doctor in who was a lot nicer than he was. I was then escorted to X-​rays and to my pleasure met some really friendly and sensitive ppl. But behold I had to go back to my room when they kept me for another one and a half with no explanation in what was going on with my foot or what they saw on the X-​rays. Nevertheless to say, I could’ve stayed home and continue doing what I was already doing. Like I said this place is a hit or miss. You have your decent ppl and some fools that shouldn’t be working in the general public.

Went to the Emergency/​urgent care for treatment of Cerumen Impaction. I was not please with the care I receive on March 4^th 2015. Cold liquid was use to remove wax buildup from both ears. During this process… I experience dizziness like never before. When done… I sat in the waiting area until I got my bearings. According to the follow-​up instruction… it states ‘DO NOT USE COLD WATER TO RINSE THE EAR SINCE THIS WILL MAKE YOU DIZZY’ I contacted Dr Lehuhardt… I was not please with his explaination/​excuses about my treatment.
Would I go back???

I waited 6 hours to get taken back. When they took me «back», I didn’t even get a room, they seated me on a chair in a back hallways and forgot about me for another hour until I got up and found a nurse.
One doctor came and asked if I had my throat swabbed to check for strep, and they forgot about me again, until I went and prodded the nurse… again.
Then another doctor came and asked me all the same questions… and I wound up sitting for another half hour until I bugged the staff… again. Then finally someone came and swabbed my throat to check for strep, and the results only took like 15 minutes.
On my way out, the nurse told me she kept forgetting about me because I was out of her field of vision.

I think one of the most clean and friendly hospitals in DC.
You have to have a photo ID to get in to the hospital. Waiting areas are always so clean and comfortable.
Most of the staffs are friendly and assist you in your need. Would definitely recommend.

My wife recently had breast surgery to remove tumors and now needs chemo/​radiation to complete her treatment. We initially couldn’t even get an appointment at GW, but a friend helped us get one. Although frustrated with GW, we decided to come in for a second opinion.
We were pretty much blown away by Dr. Tabbara and his resident fellow. They were really just great to work with. We’ve shopped almost everywhere in the area for a good oncologist, and these guys are phenomenal. They had great answers for our questions, were totally up to date on new methods of care, and gave us confidence that we were in great hands!
Parking is very expensive at GW and there is no validation. Try to find a street spot to save money.
What we saw of the hospital was actually pretty nice. The staff was meh, typical hospital staff. But it was clean and things appeared to at least be running. Hard to give less stars for things like inability to pronounce our easy-​to-​pronounce last name repeatedly. There is great cell signal in the hospital, which is critical to survival of boredom.

This building is much nicer than the previous incarnation which was kind of a dismal slab of concrete where the District Commons building now stands. But I feel like they could have somehow allowed more natural light into the building or designed it more spaciously. I came here to visit a family member post surgery and I think that family received adequate care. The nurses and doctors here seem professional and friendly especially on the third floor where my relative was staying. Only gripe that my relative had was the quality of the food, Maybe if you have a family member here offer to go around the corner to Whole Foods for them! ;-)

A really great Labor & Delivery department! I’m an RN and was super picky about where to give birth. I was looking for a place that was both safe and an OB group that made an effort to practice Evidenced Based Medicine – I found that here. Of note, there is a very strong midwifery group that practices here – they report a very low c-​section rate (2%), which effectively lowers the overall number of c-​sections performed here. GW has three birthing suites equipped with bath tubs to manage pain and/​or give birth in if you’re going the all natural route.
Pros:
I really, really wanted to avoid a c-​section, but unfortunately my baby was breech. None the less I was very happy with our care from the very capable and kind RNs, Residents, and lactation nurses.
It was always easy to get help when needed. The nurses and techs provide a phone number to reach them instead of an old fashioned call light.
Cons:
The hospital food was basically bland cafeteria food, but there was a large selection and patients can call in and have their meal delivered within an hour. Having that on demand choice is definitely an upgrade from what I’ve seen in other hospitals.
The birthing suites are HUGE. You can fit a small village in there. Unfortunately, we only got to enjoy it for a few hours; the post-​partum rooms are much, much smaller and that’s where we spent the majority of three days.
Overall, I plan to stay with the same OB group (GW Medical Faculty Assoc) so I can potentially deliver here again.