Before they go back to Albany for a special session to work on the state budget, Queens state legislators gathered at New York Hospital Queens (NYHQ) recently for a briefing on the impact of anticipated health care budget cuts.
Representatives of NYHQ; Silvercrest Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation; The Greater New York Hospital Association; the Continuing Care Leadership Coalition and the United Healthcare Workers union recounted the cuts already made and warned of the effects of even more cuts.
Listening intently were state Senators Frank Padavan and Toby Stavisky, as well as Assemblymembers Barbara Clark, Michael DenDekker, Andrew Hevesi, Margaret Markey, Nettie Mayersohn and William Scarborough.
Mayersohn and Stavisky, who organized the meeting, stated that between April 2007 and May 2009, Queens’ hospitals suffered more than $70 million in six rounds of budget cuts and three hospitals have closed. – Victor G. Mimoni
