At 4:50 p.m., Tom, 88, grabs an empty table along the left side of the Washington Hospital Center's cafeteria. He takes off his cap and plops it in front of his food tray. The room is nearly empty. Two men in scrubs tap away at their phones. A teenage girl struggles through math homework. A [...]
James Robinson, 37, sits on a wood bench outside the Washington Hospital Center's main entrance. His right hand is completely bandaged up. His left arm has an empty IV port sticking out of it. Robinson has a complicated story as to why he's here. Last Thursday night, Robinson received a series of harassing cell phone [...]
John Thomas and Colonel Boaz, both 56, Vietnam vets, and wheelchair users, place a lot of value in a smile. Thomas has been at the VA Medical Center at 50 Irving St. NW for a year and four weeks. He has gone through difficult back surgery and is waiting on a prosthetic leg. Boaz has [...]
Glenda Davis drove to the Washington Hospital Center this morning from La Plata with her husband, Larry, and his brother, Terry. They set out early, at around 5:30 a.m., for a scheduled procedure to see if Larry had any arterial blockage—he had been complaining of shortness of breath, and a stress test came back abnormal. [...]
The G-Level cafeteria in the Washington Hospital Center may be the nicest hospital cafeteria in the city. It operates on a station model, which means that instead of waiting in one, long indefinite line, diners can hop from the smoothie bar to the soup and salad bar, and then double back and hit up the [...]
George Callaham woke up this morning and made breakfast for himself and his daughter. The presentation featured eggs, scrapple, and croissants. But he didn't eat any, because he was upset with his fiancee for having stayed out late last night, clubbing. "As long as my daughter eats, I'm happy," says the 32-year-old Callaham. He ought [...]
Ricardo Thornton has had a bit of a rough morning. A friend of his was having trouble with her arm. The medication that she got after a hospital visit wasn't easing the strain that she was feeling. So at around 11:10 a.m., Thornton and his ailing companion arrived at the Washington Hospital Center emergency room [...]
