Mary Immaculate staff rally for hospital

With a planned sell off to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in the works, employees of Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica along with supporters rallied to protest any reduction in the hospital’s services or closing of the facility.
Although many of the hospital’s employees — including Gail Korecsai, who works in the laboratory — would have no trouble finding jobs, many are worried that closing the hospital or a decrease in services will put a huge burden on other area hospitals and create a healthcare void for the urban and largely minority-populated area. In addition, Mary Immaculate is Catholic, which means it treats all patients – including those without insurance, Korecsai explained.
The parent company for Mary Immaculate, Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Center, filed for bankruptcy protection last year, and employees and community members speculated that the hospital’s philosophy had a hand in its financial instability.
“Just because someone is poor or uninsured does not mean that they do not deserve care,” said Barbara Matthews, a registered nurse at Mary Immaculate for the past 18 years, during a rally last week. Matthews, the president of the New York State Nurses Association Local at the hospital, pointed out new developments on Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica and questioned which hospital would provide care to these new residents.
“Queens can simply not afford to lose another hospital,” shouted Dr. Mohammed Viquez to a crowd of doctors, nurses, staff, and supporters in Rufus King Park across from the hospital.
Fearing the worst, hospital officials estimated that should Mary Immaculate shut its doors, it would take only two hours to fill the nearby Emergency Rooms and then only two more hours to fill all the other area ER’s, after which patients would face long ambulance rides to get to an available healthcare facility.
For Carol George, 48, a reduction in services or closing of Mary Immaculate Hospital would mean the end to a long relationship. She has brought all of her children, ages 18, 17, and 16, to the hospital, which is five blocks from her home since birth.
“I do not want to, but I would have to go somewhere else,” she said.
Jamaica Hospital, located at 89-00 Van Wyck Expressway, and Queens Hospital Center, located 82-68 164th Street, are the closest options.
However, a separate concern for Jamaica’s health officials is competition between a new hospital in Mary Immaculate’s facility and Jamaica Hospital. Rally organizers urged employees to take note of the conditions of the sale and the buyer.
Although Wyckoff Heights Medical Center has setup a $40 million deal, which includes St. John’s Queens Hospital in Elmhurst, there will be an auction for the hospitals, during which other bidders can top Wyckoff’s offer. According to published reports, MediSys Health Network, which owns Jamaica and Flushing Hospitals, and North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System have expressed interest in Mary Immaculate and St. John’s Queens Hospital respectively. If bought by MediSys, Mary Immaculate would likely be combined with Jamaica Hospital. Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, which owns hospitals in Ridgewood in Queens and Bushwick in Brooklyn, is expected to ask for an auction date of June 21.