St. Vincent’s nurses condemn decision to close hospital

Say community’s need for services is still urgent

NEW YORK, April 7, 2010 – The imminent closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital is a shortsighted move that will have a tragic impact on Lower Manhattan in the loss of crucial healthcare services, according to officials from the union that represents the hospital’s 800 registered nurses.

“To consider closing St. Vincent’s is nothing short of abandoning this community,” said Tina Gerardi, MS, RN, CAE, chief executive officer of the New York State Nurses Association.

The hospital’s board of directors voted Tuesday to close the facility after it struggled for years with financial debt.

For more than 160 years, St. Vincent’s has served as the primary source of care for many underserved neighborhoods. It is the only acute-care facility in this part of the city. “At a time when more people are without health insurance, losing jobs, or working in jobs with no health benefits, we need to increase access to health care – not reduce it,” Gerardi said.

“St. Vincent’s is one of the cornerstones of Greenwich Village, it is integral to the very fabric of this neighborhood,” said Lorraine Seidel, MA, RN, director of the association’s Economic and General Welfare program.

“The Nurses Association doesn't support this so-called ‘solution,’” Seidel said. “This isn’t a solution – it’s a political deal. We don’t support political deals for those in desperate need of health care. Political deals never healed the sick. The patients of New York City need a hospital – not a political deal.”

“The Nurses Association expected more wisdom from the hospital’s board of directors and the state Department of Health,” Seidel added. “We urge the leaders of our city’s other healthcare institutions to step in and support a plan to maintain a full-service acute care facility for this area. We would oppose anything that’s less.”

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is the state's largest professional association and largest union for registered nurses. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

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