Announce job cuts at 3 hospitals

With hospital funding cuts proposed in Albany, three Queens hospitals under the newly formed Brooklyn-Queens Health Care, Inc., organization have already announced job cuts.
Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, St. John’s Queens Hospital and Mary Immaculate Hospital, which are in the midst of a major restructuring plan after Wyckoff purchased the other two facilities last year, all have announced staff cuts, according to a spokesperson for Wyckoff.
However, she said the number of cuts was not finalized and stressed that cuts were not atypical of a restructuring plan.
“This is happening without interruption to patient service [at all three hospitals],” the spokesperson said.
Mary Immaculate and St. John’s Queens Hospital used to belong to the Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers and are now being operated by the newly formed Caritas Health Care, Inc.
Meanwhile, workers at all three facilities continued to hold their breath to see if they would be paid on their next scheduled pay date, Friday, March 9, in light of cash flow problems at the hospitals.
“With cooperation from the State, Caritas will be able to meet its payroll obligations, and Wyckoff Heights will continue to make payroll,” said Dominick J. Gio, President and CEO of Wyckoff Heights Medical Center.
Unions for workers at all three facilities remain concerned about the looming cuts.
“The financial crisis facing St. John’s Hospital only underscores our argument that institutions cannot survive healthcare cuts,” said George Gresham, Secretary-Treasurer of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which represents the nurses at St. John’s. “Hospitals are literally struggling to keep their doors open as is the case here. The union is actively working with management to try and resolve the situation while also protecting members’ rights under the contract.”
In addition, Mark Genovese, a spokesperson for the New York State Nurses Association, which represents the nurses at Wyckoff and Mary Immaculate hospitals, said a representative from his union was meeting with Mary Immaculate officials on Thursday, March 7, to discuss the cuts.