Howard University and Adventist HealthCare End Acquisition Discussions
Washington, DC - Adventist HealthCare and Howard University announced today that talks regarding the possible acquisition of Howard University Hospital (HUH) by Adventist HealthCare have ended. In conjunction, Management Services Agreements (MSAs) between Adventist HealthCare and Howard University will be phased out over a transition period. The hospital’s MSA, as well as the Faculty Practice Plan’s MSA, will end in February 2026.
"The collaboration between Howard University and Adventist HealthCare over the past five years has resulted in a number of significant achievements and continued to build upon Howard University Hospital’s legacy of delivering excellent care to our community and leadership in education and research," said Howard University President Ben Vinson III, Ph.D. "While Howard and Adventist have mutually agreed to discontinue Adventist’s management of the Hospital and Faculty Practice Plan, the University will continue efforts to secure a future partnership. Howard’s plan to build a much-needed new, state-of-the-art Hospital that continues to offer the best of care, academic medicine, research, and training will not be interrupted by the change in management."
Howard University Hospital (HUH) operations will transition back to Howard University as the MSAs wind down. During this transition Hospital physician care, patient services, student and resident academic training, and research activity will remain unchanged.
"Both Adventist HealthCare and Howard University have each upheld long-standing commitments to serve the Washington, D.C., region with high-quality, compassionate healthcare for more than 100 years,” said Adventist HealthCare President & CEO, John Sackett. “While we were not able to find a solid path forward to a long-term agreement, the partnership successfully resulted in key improvements that will continue to serve all those seeking hope and healing."
In February 2020, Adventist HealthCare began providing management services for Howard University Hospital. In February of 2023, Adventist HealthCare and Howard University added a second MSA, centered on HU’s employed physician network, called the Faculty Practice Plan. Initiated just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the alliance resulted in successful management of the hospital through that health crisis while ensuring patient and employee safety. Over the past five years, the alliance has yielded key operational improvements, notable facility upgrades, including private rooms and technology modernization, achieving higher quality outcomes, continuing the hospital’s legacy of delivering compassionate, and culturally sensitive care to minority and underserved patients and communities across our region.
As Adventist HealthCare and Howard University work to unwind the management relationship, both organizations are committed to a seamless transition that considers the needs of patients, providers, employees, caregivers, and students in clinical education at every step.
