This Is A Crisis!

By Arthur Schwartz

We live in a world in crisis, led by the horrific scenes we see in Gaza and Israel, and the scary notion that Donald Trump may once again become President of the United States. But we have a crisis right here in our community. There is an expedited effort by Mount Sinai to close Beth Israel, the last major full-service hospital south of 30th Street and 1st Avenue.

The scoundrels who run Mt. Sinai have an expedited plan to shut down by the end of February 2024. As we go to press, a mole leaked the following timetable: December – close elective cardiac catheterization procedures; January – close large vessel occlusion stroke services and interventional radiology; February – close endoscopy, vascular surgery, urology, and general surgery; March – all surgery, intensive care, all treatment for heart attacks; April – Emergency, Pediatric Emergency and Psychiatric Emergency departments, ulcerative colitis treatment, blood bank and lab.

They are making these plans without the required NY State Department of Health approval. The DOH regulations governing hospital closures, just put into effect in August 2023, expressly state “Any cessation, pause or limitation of a service is a closure that requires a closure plan and requires written approval from the New York State Department of Health. No actions … may be taken prior to receiving approval of the closure plan.”

Those same regulations require that a hospital must “Identify and confirm availability of services at other area facilities including obtaining information to ensure that the provider can accept new patients, identifying where Medicaid patients can obtain care… providing information about other facilities to patients and families, ensuring language access (…information…communicated in the patient’s preferred language) and that the wishes of current patients/families are respected; and ensuring that concerns such as geographic location, public transportation, type of facility/provider, medical care, etc. are addressed in identifying future placement options and ensuring continuity of care for patients.”

This expedited, illegal, closure plan was adopted days after an angry crowd of 200 people squeezed into an auditorium at Baruch College to hear a presentation about why the hospital had to close. The elected officials present, particularly Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, expressed astonishment about why Mt. Sinai had never turned to elected officials to look for a public bailout. Hospital officials had no answer.

Mt. Sinai representatives stated that reducing the hospital’s services is a matter of “patient safety.” They said, “Beth Israel is already experiencing decreased patient utilization and has received a number of staff resignations that …. will impact the delivery of services.” The audience made up of community residents, hospital employees, and yours truly, joined in. The Mt. Sinai moderator refused to call on me until the audience started to chant, “Let him speak.”

I told the panel that saving their hospital was personal. I am alive because after having a heart attack in 2017, I was in their Cardiac Cath Unit withing an hour of waking up to chest pain. I asked how the hospital could close services in light of the Health Department regs. I also said,” Be careful what you say, a lawsuit is coming.” Then I spoke about litigation I was counsel for back in 2018-2020. This uncovered that financial losses were caused by closing the hospital’s most profitable centers: maternity, neo-natal intensive care, heart surgery, pediatric surgery, and more. I asked, “Why not adopt a plan to reopen those money-making services, and rebuild the financial well-being of the hospital, instead of emptying it out so you can sell the real estate?” The response was mealy-mouthed.

I was followed by nurse after nurse, including Mark Rubin, who worked in the ER, and who started crying when describing the horrible impact closing that ER would have on the downtown community. Others spoke about Mount Sinai choosing to close, out of their four Manhattan hospitals, the one in the lowest income area, with the highest percentage of elderly and disabled, with sizeable populations of economically disadvantaged people of color in the NYCHA housing serving the East Side from 14th Street to Grand Street, China Town and the Lower East Side. The Mt. Sinai officials looked like deer caught in the headlights. But two days later they adopted their unlawful expedited closing plan.

Never once has Mt. Sinai told us what we would do in the face of the next major health crisis. In 2020 Beth Israel stopped its closure plan because the beds were needed for COVID patients. In 2021 they announced that the Pandemic had taught them that the hospital was too valuable a resource to close. Now, they tell us that keeping the hospital open is unsafe! A place for these folks is reserved in the lower rings of Hell.

Elected officials are scheduled to meet with the Health Commissioner and a large coalition is being organized. Ultimately, we must aim at the Governor and go to court. Papers are being prepared as you read!