‘Health crisis’ as hospitals may face closure

Kim Zambrotta is worried. If St. John’s Queens Hospital in Elmhurst closes, the Middle Village resident - and long-time employee - is sure that her loved ones will have to wait to receive medical attention.
And, as a Registered Nurse and delegate specializing in critical care, Zambrotta knows that minutes can mean the difference between life and death.
“We [Queens] are not like Manhattan,” she said. “We don’t have a hospital on every corner.”
St. John’s Queens Hospital and Mary Immaculate in Jamaica are operated by Caritas Health Care, Inc. At last week’s State of the Borough address, Marshall announced that the two hospitals were on the verge of filing for bankruptcy and could face imminent closure.
Through a statement from its public relations firm, Geto & de Milly, Caritas acknowledged that “the two hospitals are experiencing financial difficulties.”
Caritas has operated the two health care centers for a little less than two years, according to Claudia Hutton, Director of Public Affairs for the New York State Department of Health.
In that time, she said, Caritas has received $44 million between the two hospitals from “approved monies set aside by the Legislature for hospitals who are in the midst of restructuring.”
These funds were administered by the Health Department and the Dormitory Authority, which does bonding for health care facilities, she noted.
But late last week, Borough President Helen Marshall hosted a meeting with politicians, officials from Caritas and State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines regarding the future of the facilities.
“Helen [Marshall] was very upset. She had heard that both hospitals were going into bankruptcy by the end of January,” said Dan Andrews, spokesperson for Marshall. “The Borough President has asked the state to at least delay any planned closure of St. John’s and Mary Immaculate. She does not want these hospitals to close.”
“Caritas has made a formal request to the state for further funds,” said Craig Horowitz, spokesperson for Geto & de Milly. “Discussions intensified after [last week’s] meeting. Caritas is working closely with our employee representatives (principally #1199 SEIU), Borough President Helen Marshall and other elected officials in Queens, and the New York State Department of Health, to explore all available options and arrive at the best possible solution to this situation. The overarching goal of these efforts is to maintain essential health care services for the communities that depend on these institutions.”
“We’re still talking to Caritas,” said Hutton. “We are looking out for the health and safety of people in Queens.”
Andrews explained that the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires facilities to give notice before closure.
St. John’s and Mary Immaculate hospitals provide vital health care services to approximately 200,000 Queens residents annually, employ 2,500 medical professionals and health services workers with an annual payroll of $150,000,000, and yield a total economic impact of $420,000,000 in New York City, according to Geto & de Milly.
Marshall also pointed out that Mary Immaculate has a trauma center and that St. John’s is a teaching hospital.
“It’s difficult to believe that other hospitals, primarily Jamaica, could absorb the [additional] work load,” Andrews told The Courier.
According to Andrews, North-Shore Long Island Jewish Health System has an exclusive option to negotiate with Caritas.
He pointed out that in 2006, a $100,000 study commissioned by the BP’s office and conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers determined that all hospitals then in existence were necessary and called for the building of two additional hospitals. Since then, both Parkway and St. Joseph’s have closed.
“If you take away St. John’s and Mary Immaculate you are really undercutting the community services,” said City Councilmember Helen Sears, who sits on the Health Committee and who attended the meeting. “The state has been most generous in helping Caritas. Sending patients to Manhattan or Long Island is out of the question. People in Queens deserve quality health care at home.”
A statement on health care union 1199 SEIU’s web site reads in part, “We are extremely concerned about the stability of St. John’s and Mary Immaculate hospitals. Both institutions were not slated for closure by the Berger Commission exactly because of the immense community need and the negative impact it would cause if they were to close. Queens has already struggled to cope with fewer institutions and less access to quality healthcare - the closure of yet another two hospitals in Queens will overburden the remaining facilities and put the health and safety of the Elmhurst and Jamaica communities at unnecessary risk.”
Patricia Loccisano agrees.
The Registered Nurse, with a specialty in intensive care, has been an employee at St. John’s for 33 years. “There are a lot of dedicated people there,” she said. “They are trying to take care of the patients as best they can. They don’t want to close.”
Loccisano explained that administrators have been hosting town hall meetings within the hospital to inform staff of the economic status of the facility, and that new hires have been let go in all departments.
Calling it a “health care crisis in Queens,” she said, “Every department has been cut and there are supposed to be more cuts. It’s a very sad state of affairs but closing us is not the answer.”
On Wednesday, January 21, the Board of Caritas was scheduled to meet in the afternoon.
Visit qns.com for updates on the story.