Congress Heights residents, District leaders, and the household of the late Max Robinson celebrated a significant milestone for the Ward 8 neighborhood, formally opening the brand new Whitman-Walker Max Robinson Middle.
The growth is a vital piece of the St. Elizabeths East campus improvement plan, additionally slated to open a brand new hospital in 2025.
The collective of partnerships between the mayor’s workplace, District leaders, and the Whitman-Walker group have invested roughly $900 million within the St. Elizabeth’s campus since 2015, making certain that developments improve the livelihood of Ward 8 residents, and fill the gaps of well being inequities that exist throughout the East of the River.
Throughout Monday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser shared that the state-of-the-art analysis and healthcare facility includes a transformational house meant to incubate native companies because it grows to turn out to be a mixed-use improvement.
“We all know the crucial function that Whitman-Walker performed in combating the horrible AIDS epidemic that ravished our communities, and we all know that the work continues. For all of us to make it possible for we’re reducing limitations to healthcare, the Max Robinson Middle is a crucial a part of that work,” mentioned Bowser.
The newest growth of the Sycamore and Oak advanced Whitman-Walker Max Robinson Middle will present major and HIV care to residents, behavioral well being providers, substance use counsel
Robinson’s household was current for the groundbreaking occasion, sharing their reward for the longstanding work of the Whitman-Walker group and pleasure in what their brother’s legacy has impressed so a few years after his passing.
“I’ve been concerned with Whitman-Walker and the reason for the Max Robinson Middle since its starting. When Max was contaminated, we didn’t have medicines and folks didn’t know a lot. There was such a stigma that we thought it was vital to disregard all of those points about why [he or anyone] had it and to make him the chief [of the cause]. It’s actually vital that we proceed with that,” mentioned Jewell Robinson, Max Robinson’s sister. “The brand new constructing is improbable, it’s exhausting to imagine. It’s so grand however nonetheless modest. Nonetheless capable of attain the folks and that’s what’s vital. Max could be so proud.”
The continued funding towards town’s well being know-how and life science sectors plans to host greater than 40 medical trial labs that can additional developments in HIV therapy and prevention, together with most cancers analysis.
Ward 8 resident and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Deborah Wells was a proud witness to the commemorable work of Whitman-Walker through the years, as she has an in depth historical past of getting her healthcare with the famend medical group since 2008.
“The Max Robinson Middle didn’t simply supply me help. The medical help that I acquired from the group was nothing wanting a miracle,” Wells mentioned. “They didn’t simply deal with my sickness, they handled me with dignity, compassion, and respect. Immediately, I stand earlier than you as a residing testomony to the ability of this middle. Because of the devoted group at Max Robinson, I’ve been given a second likelihood at life.”
