ECG Management Consultants, Inc., is a healthcare industry consulting firm with offices in Boston, Seattle, San Diego, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. We provide highly specialized strategic planning, management, and information technology-related consulting services to physicians, hospitals, and healthcare providers.

Local Bog Makes Good

Thomas Jefferson, not enamored with our nation’s capital, once characterized Washington, D.C. as a city of “Northern hospitality and Southern efficiency.”  Founded in 1790 on an undesirable patch of swampland, Washington, D.C. has grown into the most politically potent 68 square miles on earth.  Power thrums through the air; this is a place where things happen. For a tiny taste of the sheer density of American history and political clout represented here, visit the Mall, where you can tour the White House (the president is “home” when the flag is flying), view memorials to Washington, Lincoln and Vietnam veterans, see the Capitol and even attend a session of Congress.  

In addition to political influence, Washington is also home to a world-class scientific community. British scientist John Smithson paved the way for the incredible store of knowledge that is the Smithsonian Institute, comprising fourteen museums and galleries.  Admission to all is free, so don’t miss the Institute’s three crown jewels:  the museums of American History, Air and Space and Natural History (the latter featuring its own crown jewels, including the “cursed” Hope diamond).  Finally, no visit to the Mall would be complete without a stop at the National Aquarium. The popular daily feeding of the sharks and piranhas might be an apt metaphor for American politics: not pretty perhaps, but all part of the food chain.

Thinking Outside the "Box"

If you venture beyond the intensity of the Mall, you will find that the District is a city of surprising charm and unexpected treasures.  Witness the Cherry Blossom Festival, when thousands of blooming trees drape the shores of the Potomac like a pink feather boa. Children and adults alike marvel as giant butterflies, dragons and unicorns take wing at the Smithsonian Kite Festival in early September. Spend a lunch hour exploring Theodore Roosevelt Island, or weeks exploring Rock Creek Park, with over 1700 acres of hiking and cross-country ski trails, a planetarium, tennis courts and even an 18-hole golf course. Rent a canoe for a relaxing afternoon paddle or board a white-water raft for a thrilling ride down the Potomac as it tumbles toward Great Falls.

Once you tire of the District’s great outdoors, the U.S. Botanic Garden lets you experience various exotic microclimates indoors. Do you prefer the lush humidity of the Palm House jungle canopy or the arid beauty of the World Desert?  Maybe you’d like to travel back in time to the Garden Primeval and see plants that thrived during the age of dinosaurs, millions of years before man.

D.C. Culture:  Highbrow and Down-Home

If it’s culture you crave, view the notable collections of master works at the National Gallery of Art or enjoy a performance at Kennedy Center.  Tour the stunning National Cathedral and stay for high tea. As the birthplace of both Duke Ellington and Marvin Gaye, Washington’s unique musical culture is still vibrant in the nightclubs along the U Street corridor (dubbed “Black Broadway”) and celebrated yearly at the D.C. Blues Festival.

Congenial Washingtonians, despite their sophistication, haven’t forgotten their Southern down-home roots.  As you savor delicious barbecue or blue crab at the end of the day and consider everything this city has to offer, you might conclude that maybe, just maybe, Jefferson had it all wrong.