Washington Hospital Center is the largest private hospital in the nation's capital. A member of MedStar Health, the not-for-profit Hospital Center is licensed for 907 beds and, on average, operates at near capacity. Health services in primary, secondary and tertiary care are offered to adult and neonatal patients. Founded in March 1958 when three specialty hospitals merged into one, the Hospital Center occupies a 47-acre campus in Northwest Washington it shares with three other medical facilities. In fiscal year 2005, 46,805 inpatients were served --including 4,365 births-- and 358,351 outpatients. The Hospital Center has a medical/dental staff of 1,578.

The Hospital Center employs one of the region's most experienced surgical staff and is home to one of the nation's top cardiovascular programs. The Hospital Center's cardiac catheterization laboratory is one of the busiest in the country. A total of 19,017 cardiac catheterizations were performed during FY 2005. There were 2,036 open-heart surgeries and three heart transplants performed during the fiscal year. One of the Washington area's first heart transplants was done at the Hospital Center on May 22,1987.
Gastroenterology Training Program

Washington Hospital Center offers a fully accredited three-year fellowship in gastroenterology. The program prepares fellows to be competent consulting gastroenterologists, skilled in the evaluation and management of all gastrointestinal disorders and liver diseases.

Hospital Center serves a diverse population presenting a broad range of GI disorders. In this setting, fellows have the opportunity to develop essential clinical and endoscopic skills while attending both inpatients and outpatients. Past graduates have typically proceeded to private or hospital practice. Currently, there are five fellows in the program.

Curriculum

The graduate medical education program in the subspecialty of gastroenterology complies with national guidelines established in the American Gastroenterological Associations publication Gastroenterology 2003;124:1055-1104.

The first two years of training focus on core curriculum. Fellows gain extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of the major diseases of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, pancreas, gall bladder, liver, and biliary tree along with education and training in procedures such as endoscopy, biopsy, and motility studies. The final year is an opportunity for third tier training in pancreatico-biliary endoscopy or hepatology.