Heroes in our midst:
A new birth center takes aim at women’s health disparities
The team behind the only free-standing birth center in Washington, D.C.
November 9, 2022
There are 16 hospitals in Washington, D.C. But in the city’s predominantly Black east side — in Wards Five, Seven and Eight, home to a third of the city’s residents — there are only three, and not one of them offers an obstetrics unit for mothers to have their children.
This kind of inequitable access to care puts mothers’ health at risk and contributes to alarming statistics for Black women’s maternal health—Black women in America are three to four times as likely to die from complications related to childbirth than white women.
But one health center in the heart of D.C.’s Ward Five is working to reverse that trend. Operated by D.C. nonprofit Community of Hope, the facility offers the only free-standing birth center in the entire District. In April 2022, Community of Hope opened the doors of a new facility that will greatly expand its reach.
Since its founding in 1980, Community of Hope has offered medical, dental and emotional health services for all D.C. residents. The nonprofit is on a mission to end family homelessness and close the racial health care gap in Washington D.C.
The new 20,000-square-foot Family Health and Birth Center offers exam rooms, birthing suites, areas for therapy, space for group educational sessions and a pharmacy. It fills a massive maternal and infant care void, allowing mothers who live in Northeast D.C. to give birth without traveling miles to another part of the city.
Community of Hope, which already cared for over 4,500 residents in the Ward Five area expects to increase the number of patients it serves by nearly 25% in three years, ensuring people in Wards Seven and Eight can also access care.
“I see this new building as a gift to our community and to our staff,” said Kelly Sweeney McShane, who has served as CEO of Community of Hope since 2001. “We went from a very old, small building to a beautiful space where we can provide really high quality, compassionate services for our patients and for our community.”
“It’s an honor, as a Black woman, as a Black mother, to be able to turn around and to look out for those who look like me.”
– Cassandra Burrell, Certified nurse midwife, Community of Hope Family Health and Birth Center
The new facility is funded in part by a $20 million New Markets Tax Credit financed by JPMorgan Chase, part of the firm’s $30 billion Racial Equity Commitment. The NMTC program incentivizes community development projects in underserved and low-income communities through gap financing, and drives more than a billion dollars in private investment every year into businesses, housing and services. JPMorgan Chase has supported over 460 projects and nonprofits like Community of Hope with over $2 billion in NMTC equity investments.
Cassandra Burrell delivered her fourth baby in the birth center and now works at Community of Hope as a staff midwife, where she passes on the great care that she received.
“It means a lot to have a provider that looks like you,” Burnell said. “For me, it’s an honor, as a Black woman, as a Black mother, to be able to turn around and to look out for those who look like me and make sure that they also have a healthy experience.”
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Learn more about the JPMorgan Chase
$30 billion Racial Equity Commitment at
jpmorganchase.com/racialequity