St. Vincent's Fires 3,500 Employes

Yesterday, St. Vincent's Hospital announced, "We have issued termination (WARN) notices to all employees of St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan today as required by state and federal law. The action came after the Board of Saint Vincent’s voted to close the hospital’s inpatient services and to seek a transfer of some or all of the outpatient services, after an effort to save the financially troubled 160-year old institution. Employees jobs will end based upon the needs of the hospital as it moves forward with an orderly and safe wind down of operations. The Board and management are extremely grateful for the dedication and professionalism of all St. Vincent employees, some of whom have been with us for decades, during this very difficult process."

Three thousand five hundred employees received the pink slip and though many are worrying, Intensive Care Unit Director Dr. Charles Carpati told NY1, "We'll be okay, it's the patients that matter." Some senior doctors at St. Vincent's think NY State Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines killed a possible partnership with Mt. Sinai that could have saved the hospital. The NY Times reports, "They argued that Dr. Daines was trying to help a rival hospital, St. Lukes-Roosevelt, where he had been an executive, by reducing competition for patients." However, Daines' spokeswoman said the doctors couldn't offer any proof and while "she understood the doctors’ distress...such speculation was 'absolutely untrue.'"

Since ambulances are no longer taking patients to St. Vincent's, other hospitals have been taking them. A Beth Israel emergency room doctor told the Times, that usually there are four or five on Sunday morning, but this past Sunday, there were 25: "Half of them were drunks from the St. Vincent’s late-night bar scene. They get into fights, they fall down."

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By Jen Chung in News on April 13, 2010 1:17 PM

Comments [rss]

Innocent Akuma

That is too much number to be fired at once.What will happen to them?

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pinball29

The closing of this major hospital in Manhattan is SO OUTRAGEOUS that it takes the breath away. I have already seen St Vincents ambulances stuck in traffic on 8th Ave on their way uptown. People will definitely die because of this, but since Bloomberg has Lenox Hill to limousine to he doesnt give a shit. In fact, if more poor people die, it will free up apartments for incoming insured financial firm yuppies.

Besides, OTB needs saving so that the union scumbags who work there can retire on full pensions.

Its time to abandon this city.

amg2000

St Vincent's has a late night bar scene?

longacre

How is it that such a popular hospital sunk into a $700 million hole? Why are none of the stories investigating that?

JacqueMehoff

the money they spent on consultants, numerous consultants.

sort of like the City TimeKeeping and their consultants.

I'd expect hearing news like this from HHC hospitals and they seem to be doing well serving the poor and uninsured.

so it can't be that their major client base was the uninsured. How different is St. vincent's GV and Beth Israel?

I was never at this st. vincent's but had been in St. vincent's midtown before they closed and service was satisfactory. They're hospitals, mostly they're all the same.

pastoralia

I'm not one of those Bloomberg bashing types but why has he not said anything about this? It leads me to think that the Sinai deal fell through because of something political.

JacqueMehoff

I can't believe there isn't more outrage or concern over this. People may die, yes I said, People may die. is that what it takes?

freddynyc

St Vincent's caters mostly to the poor - nuff said...

virgilstarkwell

i think there's a fair amount of outrage - but it's falling on deaf and dumb ears. (paterson, quinn, etc.).

MT

Meanwhile people are bending over backwards to save OTB? In the grand scheme isn't it obvious which is more important to NYC?

hotstepper

OBAMACARE DID IT!!

Guest

you mean, "OBAMADOESNTCARE DID IT"?*

*the sarcasm expressed herein does not reflect the views and opinions of the author, the commenter, or his brain.