Providing Comprehensive Health Services and Community Research Opportunities to Wards 7 and 8

Washington, DC (September 18, 2024): Whitman-Walker, a leader in primary care, LGBTQ+ health care, research, education and policy with special expertise in HIV care, is celebrating the 1-year Anniversary of its Max Robinson Center in Congress Heights. The organization provides comprehensive health services including primary care, dental and mental health care as well as an expanded portfolio of community-based research projects.

Just a year ago, Whitman-Walker opened its new Max Robinson Center with the commitment to be a health care and community research center that would serve all DC residents, and the desire to expand our role as an integral part of the Ward 7 and Ward 8 community. Located at 1201 Sycamore Dr. SE – just steps away from the Congress Heights metro on the campus of St. Elizabeths East – the 118,000 square-foot Center was created as a welcoming and safe space to get primary care, dental care, mental health care, participate in research, visit a pharmacy and much more for residents of the southeast quadrant of DC.

Whitman-Walker has continued the legacy of trusted care that was established over 30 years ago at our beloved original Max Robinson Center in Anacostia. In its first year, this new facility has already had a great impact on the health and wellness of its community. Long-term, the new space will allow Whitman-Walker Health to serve an additional 10,000 patients a year who face numerous barriers when accessing health and wellness services in the District of Columbia and beyond.

“The Max Robinson Center is the realization of a more than a decades-long dream for Whitman-Walker,” says Whitman-Walker Health CEO Naseema Shafi. “Our new Max Robinson Center has given us the opportunity to address systemic barriers to health care while creating an affirming environment with a best-in-class health care team that treats everyone with dignity and respect. We are all honored to work side-by-side towards what we have already been able to achieve here in one year’s time and look forward to the next decades of work.”

“A year in, and we’re just getting started in connecting with this extraordinary community. I’m really proud of how staff are thinking about how we can get to know the people around our new Max Robinson Center and impact lives and counter health disparities in positive ways,” says Dr. Heather Aaron, CEO of Whitman-Walker Health System. “An example of the Institute’s work is one of our current studies related to cancer called INCLUDE. We’re taking a cost-prohibitive test and offering it free of charge so community members can be screened for more than 50 different types of cancer via a simple blood draw. And anyone who then receives a “signal detected” result will have dedicated navigation support through our partner Cancer Support Community. Now that is a win for all participants.”

The new Max Robinson Center has also expanded community-oriented research programs and facilities for Whitman-Walker Institute scientists and researchers to engage with community members to conduct applied, social/behavioral, and public health research to inform policy and practice dedicated to eliminating health inequities.

Patient Validation:

• “I want to thank the whole team at Max Robinson Center for all the care I have received since I have been coming here. They are patient, caring, respectful, and on time! Thank you Max Robinson for the quality work, performance and thorough healthcare.”
• “I LOVE MY Max Robinson FAMILY over in southeast. When I walk through the door, they know me by name and it “is” (sic) always welcoming and I LOVE the staff that you have here.”
• “I had a great visit at the new Max Robinson. My dental hygienist did an amazing job in explaining and educating me on the right way to take care of my teeth. I loved her delivery. Easy and effective.”

# # #

About Whitman-Walker

For over fifty years, Whitman-Walker has been part of the fabric of the Washington, DC community as well as nationally as first responder and care-provider for those living with HIV; a leader in LGBTQ+ care and advocacy; a research center working to discover breakthroughs in HIV treatment and prevention science; and one of the DC’s most trusted partners during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, Whitman-Walker Health unveiled a new, larger Max Robinson Center (MRC) in the Congress Heights neighborhood of SE DC, inviting its Ward 7 and 8 neighbors to fulfill all their health care needs at the 118,000 square-foot facility that provides a range of services to the community, including medical, dental, and HIV care, behavioral health services, substance use counseling, and a pharmacy.  The new MRC is also working to expand community-oriented research programs and facilities for Whitman-Walker Institute scientists and researchers to engage with community members to conduct applied, social/behavioral, and public health research to inform policy and practice dedicated to eliminating health inequities. Whitman-Walker envisions a society where all people are seen for who they are, treated with dignity and respect, and afforded equal opportunity to health and wellbeing. More info can be found at: www.whitman-walker.org.

Media Contact: Lisa Amore, Sr. Director of Communications, Whitman-Walker; Cell: 206-954-8006; lamore@whitman-walker.org