Howard University Hospital shows symptoms of a severe crisis

When Howard University Hospital opened its doors as Freedmen’s in Northwest D.C. in 1862, it stood out for the medical care it offered freed slaves and became an incubator for some of the country’s brightest African American physicians.

But over the past decade, the once-grand hospital that was the go-to place for the city’s middle-class black patients has been beset by financial troubles, empty beds and an exodus of respected physicians and administrators, many of whom said they are fed up with the way it is run. The facility has faced layoffs, accreditation issues, and sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits, and it has paid out at least $27 million in malpractice or wrongful-death settlements since 2007, a Washington Post examination has found.