The City Council’s Queens delegation and Speaker Corey Johnson secured a $3 million allocation for Mount Sinai Queens, providing the hospital the funds needed to purchase a new MRI and CT scan machine.
The latest allocation builds upon a long-standing partnership between the City Council and the Astoria hospital, which has been one of the institutions at the center of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Astoria Councilman Costa Constantinides, who was recently re-admitted at Mount Sinai due to COVID-19 complications but is now recovering, points to the importance of investing more into the healthcare system.
“Mount Sinai Queens saved my life and the lives of many western Queens residents because it puts the health of this community above everything else,” said Constantinides. “This crisis shows we must expand and build more hospital space in the boroughs. Today is a first step in making that happen. These MRI and CT scan machines will embolden medical professionals to save lives. I want to thank Speaker Corey Johnson, my colleagues in the Queens Delegation, led by Council Member Karen Koslowitz, and Mount Sinai Queens for their continued partnership.”
Mount Sinai is one of the two health facilities that serves all of western Queens, along with Elmhurst Hospital, which was designated the “epicenter of the epicenter” when the virus began spreading rapidly in March.
“We are incredibly grateful to Speaker Corey Johnson and Council member Costa Constantinides, along with the entire Queens delegation, for supporting Mount Sinai Queens’ ability to provide comprehensive services to Queens residents,” said Mount Sinai Queens’ Executive Director Caryn A. Schwab. “The expansion of our imaging services with an additional MRI and CT scanner will improve access to care and enhance the patient experience. This equipment is critical in the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of a broad range of diseases including cancer care.”
Last summer, hospital leadership and Constantinides opened the state-of-the-art Cerebrovascular Stroke Center, which received $1.8 million from the City Council.
“Queens appreciates all of the work that Mt. Sinai has done and continues to do, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Council member and Chair of the Queens Delegation Karen Koslowitz. “We are happy to allocate these funds to them.”
