[2] In 2016, the government of the District of Columbia awarded a no-bid contract for running the hospital to Veritas, a politically connected firm with limited experience in health care management.

[4][2] In 2013, a firm specializing in hospital turnarounds, Huron Consulting, deployed dozens of its employees and improved UMC's operating margins.

After Huron's contract expired and a long term operator could not be found, in early 2016 the mayor decided the hospital board should invoke its emergency authority to select a new consultant.

[8] In August 2017, regulators ordered UMC to stop delivering babies after a number of dangerous mistakes were made, leaving the District without an obstetrics ward east of the Anacostia River.

[9] In October 2017, the nurses union voted "no confidence" in the hospital's leadership and said that unsafe nurse-patient ratios and a lack of proper equipment remained unaddressed.

[10] D.C. officials and Health Department Director LaQuandra Nesbitt refused repeated requests to disclose the specific medical lapses that caused the closing of the only obstetrics ward east of the Anacostia River.

[12][13] Craig took the unusual step of appearing before DC Council's Health Committee, where he said that Veritas improperly cut his hours and disregarded hospital procedures that ensured patient safety.

[6] Two Veritas managers received an average of more than $7,400 a month to fly back and forth to D.C. from their homes in different states and covered the costs of luxury apartment at National Harbor.

[19] In February 2018, the Council approved a $5 million contract with Mazars USA LLP, a New York-based firm with substantial expertise in hospital management.