**MEDIA ADVISORY FOR THURSDAY, JAN. 18 AT 5PM**
NURSES SPEAK OUT AGAINST ST. CATHERINE HOSPITAL CLOSURE OF MATERNAL CHILD HEALTH SERVICES
Amid National Maternal and Infant Mortality Crisis, St. Catherine Terminating Vital Health Services
Nurses and Community Allies Demand Hospital Immediately Reverse Course
Contact: Anna Sterling | press@nysna.org | 646-673-0419
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org| 646-853-4489
Smithtown, N.Y.– St. Catherine of Siena Hospital announced that on Feb. 1, the facility will terminate all maternal child health services. This includes labor and delivery, post-partum and neonatal intensive care. The closure of these vital services will have a negative impact on the community, forcing pregnant individuals to travel 30–40 minutes more to other nearby hospitals. This significantly increases the risk of adverse events during pregnancy or childbirth.
The closure of these services comes amid a national maternal and infant mortality crisis. A recent study has shown a doubling of maternal deaths over the last 20 years, with New York having a high pregnancy-related mortality rate of 18.2 per 100,000 live births, with 78% of those deaths preventable.
The NYSNA nurses who work at St. Catherine say it is unconscionable that hospital administrators would terminate much-needed maternal child health services at such a critical time.
Nurses, healthcare professionals, and community members will speak out at a community town hall to call on St. Catherine to take immediate action to reverse this harmful course.
WHO: Nurses and healthcare professionals of the New York State Nurses Association, labor and community allies including Long Island Jobs with Justice Executive Director Ani Halasz and Long Island Federation of Labor Political Director Imran Ansari.
WHAT: Speak out against St. Catherine termination of maternal child health services, followed by a public forum on the discontinuation of the hospital’s maternity services.
WHERE: Smithtown Fire Department, 100 Elm Avenue Smithtown, NY
WHEN:
5:00 p.m. -6:00 p.m.: Speak-out in 1st floor lobby. Press availability with NYSNA nurses and labor and community allies.
6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.: Public forum including Q&A with hospital administrators at in 2nd floor meeting space
St. Catherine of Siena Hospital, the first baby-friendly designated hospital in Suffolk County, has been a cornerstone in providing quality care to mothers and babies in Smithtown and surrounding communities. The closure of labor and delivery, NICU, and post-partum health services would jeopardize the well-being of families and the greater community at-large.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said: “We are strongly against the reckless decision to close vital maternal child health services at St. Catherine. Nurses are united to ensure the well-being of mothers, babies, and families, and demand that St. Catherine of Siena administrators put patients before profits and keep these services open."
Holly Meduri, RN, St. Catherine of Siena, said: "As a dedicated nurse with years of service at St. Catherine, I've witnessed the positive impact our maternal child health services have on families. Closing these essential services not only jeopardizes lives but undermines the core values that have defined our hospital. We must fight to preserve the care and support our community depends on."
###
The New York State Nurses Association represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.
