Catholic Health to close maternity ward at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital on Long Island
SMITHTOWN, N.Y. -- St. Catherine of Siena Hospital on Long Island is closing its maternity ward at the end of the month.
Nurses and patients said it's a devastating blow to the Smithtown community.
"I have a miracle child. I thank God for the nurses that day," said Maria Boyle.
Boyle said not a day goes by without a prayer for the maternity unit at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital for saving her life and her daughter's.
"This is personal. The fact that they are closing the maternity ward is disgraceful," said Boyle.
Sixty nurses said they learned Friday their beloved maternity unit will be gone after January.
In their decades on the ward, nurses Vicki Shulman and Marion Ciecirrski helped deliver hundreds of babies.
"Devastating. Every single one of us has burst into tears. We are a family there. It is our second home," said Ciecirrski.
The hospital said "unforeseen circumstances" led to the closure.
Catholic Health said it tried to negotiate with OB-GYN physicians, but those doctors will no longer be able to provide services there following changes to their private employment and new contract obligations.
Catholic Health suggested St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson or Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip as alternatives.
Nurses said it leaves the needs of women in Smithtown in limbo.
"When you are emergent as a maternity patient, you don't have 40 minutes. You can lose that baby in a snap and you can lose your own life," said Boyle.
"Bring back labor and delivery, bring back postpartum, NICU. We need this in the community," said Shulman.
In a statement, Catholic Health said, "Staff will remain in their current positions after February 1, and we will continue to work with the state to ensure we meet appropriate regulations regarding staffing and emergency delivery coverage going forward."
Nurses said it's about a vocation more than a job.
"Physical and mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing," said Ciecirrski.
Their futures are uncertain.