Stories of Impact: Children's National Hospital

Children’s National Hospital has been serving DC-area families for more than 150 years. Since its establishment in 1870, it’s grown from a modest 12-bed facility to a 323-bed facility that performs more than 17,000 surgeries and conducts more than 649,000 outpatient visits in more than 60 specialties each year. Though a national leader in pediatric medical care, Children’s National is the only exclusive provider of pediatric care in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area and has always been deeply connected to the city it serves.

That’s why, when The Coalition began forming its DC Community Anchor Partnership (DCAP) in 2017, the hospital’s government affairs team quickly recognized the alignment with their internal values. They introduced the initiative to supply chain leadership, and Ashley E. Wilson, MHSA, Executive Director of Supply Chain Services, has been engaged ever since.

DCAP is a collaborative of major District institutions, including hospitals, universities, and other major employers, that work together to ensure greater inclusion of DC-based small and medium-sized businesses in the local purchasing landscape. By aligning procurement with local market capacity, anchors help strengthen the District’s economy, support local job creation, and keep more of the city’s economic activity rooted in the community.

“We believed it to be a really strong cause. DCAP enhances the community that we are here to serve and that we live in,” Ashley recalls.

Over the years, DCAP has helped Children’s National bring greater intentionality to how it identifies and contracts with local vendors. In the early days, anchor institutions often did not have a full picture of the breadth of DC’s local business ecosystem, or which firms had the capacity to take on major contracts, and DCAP stepped in to close that gap.

They did a really good job of creating a repository of available local businesses. These are the cleaning vendors. These are the IT vendors. These are transportation or staffing vendors. It opened our eyes to a much larger portfolio of suppliers.

DCAP also added efficiency and structure to the process.

They never just pushed a supplier and said, ‘Here are five vendors’. Based on our minimum requirements, they helped us screen suppliers so we were meeting vendors who were already ready and capable. It created a lot more efficiency for us and for the suppliers.

Children’s National also found value in DCAP’s cross-industry collaboration. Ashley shared that hospitals rarely sit in procurement discussions with other sectors, and for the last nine years, DCAP has been able to convene institutions across sectors into the same room.

It was nice to be in a room with Georgetown University or DC Water and understand how their procurement processes work. We could learn from them, and they could learn from us.

Over time, the partnership has reshaped internal practice. Local business engagement is now part of how Children’s National approaches nearly every service-based procurement.

Anytime we go out to bid, particularly in services, we reach out to DCAP. It has become ingrained in our procurement and contracting practices.

A Success Story

One of the clearest demonstrations of DCAP’s impact was The Coalition’s inaugural DCAP Vendor Connection Day in early 2025. Co-hosted with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), the event reversed the typical supplier fair model: anchor institutions with active RFPs and contracting opportunities were stationed at tables, while local businesses rotated through timed sessions to pitch their services.

About Us – SFMS Company During the event, Children’s National met Sustainable Facilities Management Services (SFMS), a DC-based firm specializing in janitorial and facilities services. The initial conversation led to a competitive bid opportunity for a major cleaning contract that spanned the hospital’s extended campus, including ambulatory surgery centers and outpatient and primary care clinics.

SFMS formed a joint venture with another firm, which ultimately won the contract, valued at roughly $1.7 million annually. Over three years, that amounts to a $5 million agreement.

“Had that event not brought the two groups together, we may have missed that opportunity,” Ashley reflects. The contract supports local jobs, business growth, and long-term stability for a company deeply rooted in the District.

Patricia Bush, CEO of SFMS, emphasized that DCAP played a key role in identifying this opportunity and supporting their joint venture, SFMS–P&R, throughout the process. “We are delighted to partner with Children’s National Hospital.”

The missions of all three organizations are strongly aligned, and we share a deep commitment to delivering the highest quality of service.

- William McAfee, President of SFMS

Anchoring Community Wealth

Children’s National’s commitment to local procurement is part of a much broader District effort. Since DCAP’s inception in 2017, anchor spending with local minority owned businesses has reached a cumulative total of $946 million. When the initiative started, the institutions participating had a collective spend of only $5.7M.

Together, Children’s National and DCAP are demonstrating what is possible when major District institutions choose to align procurement with local capacity. These partnerships help grow the city’s small business ecosystem, create meaningful job opportunities for residents, build community wealth, and strengthen neighborhood-level economic activity.

I am a huge fan of DCAP and what they have accomplished. The impact they are having on the community is remarkable.

- Ashley Wilson, Children's National Hospital

Thank you to Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Kaiser Permanente, the DC Council, and the DC Deputy Mayor’s Office for Planning & Economic Development for making The Coalition’s DC Community Anchor Partnership program possible.

Learn more about DCAP

Stories of Impact: Children’s National Hospital

A Success Story

Anchoring Community Wealth

I am a huge fan of DCAP and what they have accomplished. The impact they are having on the community is remarkable.

Thank you to Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Kaiser Permanente, the DC Council, and the DC Deputy Mayor’s Office for Planning & Economic Development for making The Coalition’s DC Community Anchor Partnership program possible.

Become a Member

Stories of Impact: Children’s National Hospital

A Success Story

Anchoring Community Wealth

I am a huge fan of DCAP and what they have accomplished. The impact they are having on the community is remarkable.

Thank you to Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Kaiser Permanente, the DC Council, and the DC Deputy Mayor’s Office for Planning & Economic Development for making The Coalition’s DC Community Anchor Partnership program possible.

Become a Member

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