Mount Sinai closing Beth Israel facility amid financial struggles
NEW YORK -- Mount Sinai Hospital on Friday announced plans to close its Beth Israel facility amid financial struggles.
Patients are worried about the impact the decision will have on the East Side community.
"It's my hospital. It's my mother's hospital. It's the hospital he was born in. So, this is not a good feeling whatsoever," said Taruko Shaw, a patient at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
People who used the hospital on 16th Street in Manhattan for decades were disappointed to hear about the process to gradually close it.
A spokesperson said the hospital has been operating at 20% capacity and lost $1 billion in the last decade.
"This decision comes after recent financial changes, including significant increases in labor and supply costs, and years of decreasing inpatient census as care continues to move to outpatient and non-hospital settings," Mount Sinai Beth Israel said in a statement.
Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, who represents the East Side, questioned the hospital's management.
"My daughter was born here ... they closed the maternity ward. A friend of mine had a heart attack, was brought here, and they closed the cardiac unit," said Epstein. "You basically bleed a hospital dry by taking all those services out and then you wonder why you're losing so much money."
A hospital spokesperson said impacted unionized staff members will be offered jobs at the same pay at other Mount Sinai locations.
But some staff members told CBS New York they don't know what the plan is and it could mean their commutes get much longer.
No timeline was given on exactly when Beth Israel will close. The hospital said the emergency department will still receive patients for now.
"I wonder if it's a done deal or if there's any chance that they'll change their minds, or if some philanthropist will decide to fund them," said Alan Gersch, who was visiting a patient at Beth Israel.
Mount Sinai said options for a smaller hospital nearby are being explored and the closure will not affect other Mount Sinai sites.