Loss Of Peninsula Imperils Rockaway
Rep. Bob Turner and City Council Member Eric Ulrich sent a letter to state Department of Health Commissioner Nirav Shah requesting a public meeting in the Rockaways to address increasing questions regarding their decision to close the Peninsula Hospital.
“This is an unfortunate development for the people who use and work at Peninsula Hospital,” Turner said. “My thoughts are with the employees and residents who will be affected by this decision during such tough economic times. My hope is that the letter from Councilman Ulrich and I will motivate the New York Department of Health to send a representative who can answer the important questions raised by members of the community.”
In the letter, Turner and Ulrich ex- pressed concern over the “great alarm and confusion” the announcement of the hospital closing has created in the community.
The letter also states that residents “deserve some clarity on what process led to this decision” and requests that the state’s Department of Health address the community’s concerns by holding a public hearing in the area as soon as possible.
Ulrich added that if the hospital is not re-opened, the well-being of Rockaways residents would be severely compromised.
“Peninsula Hospital must re-open. If the State Department of Health and the court-appointed trustee allow it to close permanently, the health and safety of every single Rockaway resident will be severely compromised. I am also concerned about the hundreds of employees who will lose their jobs for good if this decision is made final. This is simply unacceptable,” Ulrich said.
Peninsula Hospital is one of only two hospitals in the Rockaways. With the closure of Peninsula Hospital, St. John’s Hospital be responsible for managing the entire emergency medical care and hospital service needs of the Rockaways and Broad Channel, including a new community being built on the peninsula that encompasses roughly 60 blocks of two-family homes.
