‘Bottom line: This is a disaster for our community’

Angry St. Vincent’s RNs protest Hospital closing: 4 to 6 p.m. tomorrow

NEW YORK, April 7, 2010 – Saying closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan is “nothing short of abandoning the community,” the union representing the facility’s 800 registered nurses will participate in a protest in front of the hospital from 4 to 6 p.m. tomorrow.

“In voting to close St. Vincent’s last night, the hospital’s members of board of directors showed how much they’re lacking in courage and foresight,” said Lorraine Seidel, MA, RN, director of the New York State Nurses Association collective-bargaining program.

“Instead of thinking about the community this hospital has served for 160 years,” Seidel added, “the board of directors – with the support of the state’s Department of Health – proved they are only concerned about the politics of an ‘easy fix.’ Well, the real bottom line is that this is a disaster for our community.”

Speakers will express their frustration over the decision to close the inpatient facility and will demand that the leaders of the city’s other healthcare institutions step in and support a plan to maintain a full-service acute care facility for the area.

“Opportunities for maintaining acute care here have been wasted because of politics and whatever transpired in closed-door meetings,” Seidel said. “Now how many people in this community will suffer because care will no longer be available?”

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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