Chelsea – City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn today convened a meeting to discuss the potential consequences the community would face as a result of closing St. Vincent Hospital\u2019s emergency room facilities. Dozens of seniors spoke out against the proposal to eliminate emergency room services and offered specific personal experiences when a visit to the St. Vincent\u2019s emergency room saved a life. Committee on Aging Chair Jessica Lappin and Committee on Senior Centers Chair Deborah Rose joined Speaker Quinn for today\u2019s meeting at Chelsea\u2019s Hudson Guild Center.<\/p>\n
Last week Speaker Quinn, together with a coalition of Westside elected officials, called on the state to take action to prevent the elimination of emergency room facilities at St. Vincent\u2019s Hospital. The potential consequences of the proposed action are particularly severe given that St. Vincent\u2019s acute care center is the only emergency medical space on the Westside of Manhattan from Park Row to 59th Street. <\/p>\n
Continuum Health Partners has proposed to take over St. Vincent\u2019s Hospital in an effort to financially stabilize its medical centers, but their proposal also includes a plan to remove the emergency room facilities.<\/p>\n
Speaker Christine C. Quinn stated, \u201cIn the crucial seconds of a health emergency when every second is a difference between life and death, getting to a hospital in time can literally save a life. Redirecting patients to a hospital miles away is simply not an appropriate response and we won\u2019t allow our community, especially our senior community, to be left without a emergency care medical center right here, on the west side of Manhattan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must all work together to ensure that St. Vincent’s can keep its doors open and maintain the many vital services it provides to the community,” said Congressman Jerrold Nadler. “It is the only level 1 trauma center below 59th street and, needless to say, is an indispensable New York institution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSenior citizens, and all those on lower West Side of Manhattan, simply cannot afford to lose the access to emergency care that St. Vincent’s Hospital provides,\u201d said State Senator Thomas K. Duane. \u201cI and my fellow elected officials are working together as a united front and call on every agency of the City, State and Federal Government, at the highest levels, to guarantee that St. Vincent’s hospital, the only full service hospital on the lower west side of Manhattan, remains
\nopen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe loss of a full service hospital on the lower West side of Manhattan dangerously disadvantages the health and safety of tens of thousands of New Yorkers, including a large senior population that would be particularly vulnerable to the consequences of reduced health care services,\u201d said Assembly Member Deborah Glick. \u201cThis is most dramatically true with the elimination of the Level 1 Trauma Care Emergency Room. An ambulatory care center in no way compensates West side neighborhoods for the loss of a full service hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fate of this hospital is about more than dollars and cents \u2013 it\u2019s about people\u2019s lives,\u201d said Committee on Aging Chair Jessica Lappin. \u201cFor seniors, every second counts during a medical emergency. The longer seniors need to wait before receiving medical attention, the longer their lives are at risk. It\u2019s just that simple. Closing the emergency facilities at St. Vincent\u2019s would be a mistake for this community and for the entire city.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chelsea – City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn today convened a meeting to discuss the potential consequences the community would face as a result of closing St. Vincent Hospital\u2019s emergency room facilities. Dozens of seniors spoke out against the proposal to eliminate emergency room services and offered specific personal experiences when a visit to the St. Vincent\u2019s emergency room saved a life.<\/p>\n
…<\/p>\n