There are concerns about the plan to close Mount Sinai Beth Israel in Manhattan.
The health care system announced it would close the hospital in July, but Mount Sinai said it is already phasing out some of its patient services and has begun laying off health care workers. Some community members and elected officials are concerned about the hospital's ability to provide adequate care.
What you need to know
- Mount Sinai — which bought Beth Israel Hospital a decade ago — said it is on track to lose $150 million this year
- Hospital officials also said they are seeing fewer patients than ever before
- Some community members and elected officials said the closure will leave the area severely underserved, and will be a loss for New Yorkers who rely on it for care during emergencies or other dire circumstances.
Beth Israel of the Lower East has served the community since the 1880s. The Manhattan campus is closing its doors due to financial losses. Mount Sinai — which bought the hospital a decade ago — said it is on track to lose $150 million this year. Hospital officials also said they are seeing fewer patients than ever before. Now the hospital is accelerating its plan for a July 2024 closure.
For longtime community members like Jorge Vargas, who has used the emergency room for the past 47 years, the hospital's closure is a great loss.
“I don't think the hospital closure is necessarily great for the neighborhood because we don't know what's going to happen here. Obviously it's always good to have a hospital nearby,” he said.
Vargas, who has a cousin born in Beth Israel, said he had high hopes when Mount Sinai first purchased the facility.
“Unfortunately, the hospital always felt a little run down, so we hoped that once Mount Sinai took over, there would be more real leadership, and it would be a top hospital,” Vargas said.
Vargas said he now has to seek care at NYU Langone, about a mile away, amid the shutdown.
Assembly Member Deborah Glick said she is very concerned that the closure will leave the area in dire straits.
“They are moving services needed downtown to other parts of their system, leaving Lower Manhattan with a severe shortage of access to services,” said Assembly Member Glick.
Mount Sinai defended the need to expedite the closure plan in a statement to NY1: “The rapidly declining patient census and staff departures will require some reduction in services before July. We have notified our regulators and local officials and posted our proposed closure plan and additional information for patients on our website.”
Assembly Member Glick said Sinai is closing its units despite the fact that the Department of Health has not approved its closure plan.
Meanwhile, Mount Sinai said it is working with some patients to transfer their care to nearby hospitals such as Bellevue.
The hospital also said it is helping union employees find jobs at one of their other locations.
