EXCLUSIVE-Wyckoff bids on two hospitals

When St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers (SVCMC), the largest Catholic hospital system in New York State, filed for bankruptcy protection last July, the future of two of its Queens affiliates – St. John’s Hospital Queens and Mary Immaculate Hospital – was unclear. Now, The Queens Courier has learned that Wyckoff Heights Hospital has emerged as the favorite to take over the two facilities and has put in its bid with the bankruptcy court.
“Wyckoff put in a bid to take over the assets of the two facilities and operate them as hospitals,” said Vincent Arcuri, Chairman of Community Board 5 and member of the Board of Trustees of Wyckoff Hospitals. Arcuri said that Wyckoff put a bid in about two or three weeks ago with one of the stipulations for the sale being that the facilities would continue to operate as voluntary hospitals.
“The offers have been made, and we are waiting to sign a formal agreement,” said Emil Rucigay, Chairman of the Board of Wyckoff’s Board of Trustees. He said that they could sign an agreement as early as within the next week to 10 days barring a late bid that trumps Wyckoff’s offer.
In addition, Rucigay said that he has met with Borough President Helen Marshall, and she has endorsed and fully supports Wyckoff’s efforts.
Dominick J. Gio, President and CEO of Wyckoff Hospital said that he had no comment at this time.
SVCMC was established in 2000 because of the merger of Catholic Medical Centers of Brooklyn and Queens, Saint Vincent Hospital and Medical Center of New York and Sisters of Charity Healthcare on Staten Island. It operates six hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, a system-wide home care agency, and a hospice.
In 2005, SVCMC recorded more than 82,000 inpatient discharges, 1,000,000 outpatient visits, and nearly 650,000 home care visits, and its emergency rooms, which house three Level I Trauma centers, received 240,000 visits that same year.