Beth Israel Closure Would Harm People with Disabilities, Low Incomes, Elderly
By Arthur Schwartz
On January 29, members of the Community Coalition to Save Beth Israel and NYEEI (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary) were joined by Assemblymember Harvey Epstein and State Senator Kirsten Gonzalez, who represent the immediate community around Beth Israel Hospital, to release a report on the results of a community-led health equity impact assessment of the consequences of closing Beth Israel Medical Center. The report – Lower Manhattan Lifeline: What Beth Israel Medical Center Means to Local Residents – has been sent to New York State Health Commissioner James McDonald who must decide whether to approve the Mount Sinai Health System’s request to close Beth Israel.
Contrary to Department of Health Guidelines issued this past summer, the Mount Sinai Hospital System did not do an Independent Health Equity Impact Assessment, looking especially at the impact of the closure on medically underserved people. The Community Coalition stepped forward to do its own assessment, which included a survey to which more than 900 local residents responded. Lois Uttley, Co-founder of Community Voices for Health System Accountability, guided the study.
This assessment will be a powerful weapon as litigation proceeds to stop the Beth Israel closure.
Findings
Lower Manhattan is seriously lacking in-hospital capacity. Below 14th Street, there is only one full-service hospital with 180 beds for more than 300,000 people. That’s less than one hospital bed per 1,000 people – far below the state and national averages of 2.4 beds per 1,000 people.
Closure of the nearest hospital above 14th Street — Beth Israel — would send people needing emergency care to Bellevue and NYU Langone. Both already run “high volume” emergency rooms with average wait times of more than three hours. Each hospital serves more than 60,000 emergency patients per year. They appear unlikely to be able to absorb the 60,000+ patients who use Beth Israel’s emergency department annually.
People with disabilities and frail elderly people, some of whom have depended on Beth Israel for their entire lives, are terrified of losing their community hospital and worried about the cost and physical challenges of traveling to uptown hospitals.
“There are massive equity implications to Mount Sinai’s attempt to close Beth Israel. The closure would disproportionately impact the most vulnerable people in our community. We will not stop fighting to preserve this vital neighborhood hospital.”
Assemblymember Epstein
The zip codes from which significant percentages of Beth Israel patients are drawn – especially 10002 – include some of the city’s poorest residents, and higher-than-citywide rates of public insurance, speaking a language other than English at home and having only a high school or less education.
Closing Beth Israel would have a negative impact on medically underserved residents of Lower Manhattan, especially those with disabilities, older adults (especially frail elderly), LGBTQ+ people and low-income, racially diverse residents in the two zip codes from which the largest proportions of Beth Israel patients originate (10002 and 10009).
“Our community has seen hospital closures and disinvestment from health systems. The closure of Beth Israel will have devastating consequences for access to quality healthcare. The remaining emergency departments in the area will not be able to absorb 70,000 more patients, resulting in lengthy waits for life saving procedures, or excessive travel for those with complex medical needs. I call on the Governor, State Department of Health, and federal government to invest needed resources into Lower Manhattan so that we do not lose our hospital.”
City Council Member Carlina Rivera
People in the East Village, Lower East Side, Chinatown, and Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village regard Beth Israel as their community hospital and rate it highly for emergency care and the compassionate and caring approach of its staff.
Closing Beth Israel would exacerbate the already inadequate hospital bed capacity in lower Manhattan, where there remains just one full-service hospital (NY- Presbyterian Lower Manhattan in the Financial District), following the closures of St. Vincent’s Hospital, Cabrini Hospital and acute inpatient services at Gouverneur on the Lower East Side.
Every day I hear from constituents who are concerned about disruptions to their health services, and who are worried about longer ambulance rides and increased wait times at other E.Rs. Thanks to the Community Coalition for uplifting the stories of those who would be most harmed by MSBI’s closure—those who are elderly, low-income, or have disabilities. Strong community healthcare systems save lives.”
Senator Kristen Gonzalez
Only 10 percent of the more than 900 Lower Manhattan survey respondents reported they are likely to use other Mount Sinai facilities, such as Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai’s main campus uptown, should Beth Israel be closed. They cited difficulties with accessing and affording transportation to these facilities, especially if they are people with disabilities or frail elderly people. These barriers could force people to seek care outside the Mount Sinai system, causing them to lose continuity of care with physicians they have been seeing for years.
Conclusion
The New York State Department of Health should not approve the closure of Beth Israel because it will have a negative impact on medically underserved people in Lower Manhattan. Of special concern is the impact of closing the emergency department, which was cited as an essential community resource by survey respondents and those who participated in follow-up interviews. It is unlikely that Bellevue and NYU Langone Hospitals would be able absorb the patients who use Beth Israel’s emergency department.
“As our older population grows, we must make sure every valuable state dollar is spent directly on the care our constituents need—not siphoned off by private companies that do not provide any health care services. Community Board 3 opposes closing the 16th Street Campus. Nearly one-third of the hospital’s discharges last year were from CD3 and Stuyvesant Town. In addition, given the growing number of very old residents in CD3, and the concern about emergencies such as disasters and pandemics, the loss of this hospital would be detrimental to our community.”
Mae Lee, Chair of the Health Seniors Human Services/Youth Education
Human Rights Committee of Manhattan Community Board 3
