Nearly 4 dozen hospitals have closed across New York state since 2000. CBS New York investigates why
NEW YORK - A new CBS New York Investigation has found nearly four dozen hospitals have closed across New York state over the past 25 years.
Records from the New York State Nurses Association and the state health department show at least 42 hospitals have closed across the Empire State since 2000, but New York health officials contend some of those areas, although they wouldn't say which, may have also had new hospitals open.
As Investigative Reporter Tim McNicholas reports, the impending closure of one New York City hospital is already affecting patients.
Closure of Mount Sinai Beth Israel forces patients to make major changes
Mount Sinai Beth Israel in the East Village planned to close July 12, but their closure plan has not yet been approved by the state Department of Health.
The hospital still plans to close "as quickly as possible," forcing patients to make major changes.
Dustin Jones is a former patient at Beth Israel Hospital. He lives in Midtown and used to push his wheelchair to Beth Israel, but at the moment, he can't find any doctors that meet his needs closer than Cobble Hill.
"Do I wanna go to Brooklyn? No, not really, but at this point, I don't really have a choice," he said. "Because I don't know what's gonna happen with Beth Israel ... I decided about two weeks ago to switch my doctor."
His new doctor's office is about an hour away on public transit on a good day.
"Because everybody either they're not accepting new patients or they don't have everything that is critical for me and what I need," Jones said.
In Brooklyn, Jones finished his new commute on a bus only to find a truck blocking the stop outside the hospital, leaving no space to extend the wheelchair ramp, so he rode to the next stop, nearly half a mile away, then pushed his wheelchair back to the hospital.
"Two morons parked at a bus stop can set me or anybody else in this situation back," he said.
He made it through that new door just barely in time for his appointment, hoping for an easier journey back to Manhattan.
"I don't know who, maybe it's the mayor, maybe it's the governor, some politicians, but ... more should be done to make sure that hospitals are in a better state, so that way they don't have these problems," Jones said.
Mount Sinai says it's investing in existing facilities to create a "continuity of care for downtown residents" after Beth Israel closes, but for months, patients and staff have fought the plan to shutter the 500-bed hospital, arguing it would devastate the East Village.
Attorney Arthur Schwartz, General Counsel for the Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York, suffered a heart attack in 2017 and was treated less than an hour later.
"I feel like this hospital being here saved my own life," Schwartz said.
He's also the lead attorney on a lawsuit claiming Mount Sinai is violating state laws by closing Beth Israel and already stopping some services.
"It's an intentional action by Mount Sinai's CEO because the property that this hospital sits on is extremely valuable real estate," Schwartz said. "They wanna sell this property for real estate development."
Mount Sinai declined CBS New York's interview request but sent a statement denying those claims.
"The truth is, in 2015, the year prior to moving any services, MSBI lost approximately $114M and in 2016 MSBI lost approximately $86M. Over eight years ago, Mount Sinai moved a few specialized services out of MSBI due to low patient volumes and the inherent risk to patient safety. We started moving those services in 2016 to other Mount Sinai hospitals that specialize in that type of care to ensure the best quality care for our patients. In the meantime, we continue to comply with the TRO, and any accusation suggestion otherwise is false," the statement said.
The city health department and Mount Sinai would not agree to an interview with CBS New York.
Mount Sinai has not said when Beth Israel will close.
Financial struggles affecting New York hospitals
Hospitals leaders sent a closure plan to the state earlier this year describing "insurmountable financial losses."
One of the reasons listed is a common complaint from financially struggling health care providers: Medicaid is not paying enough.
But a recent report from the Urban Institute found Medicaid reimburses New York community health centers about 70% of the cost of care.
Dr. Torian Easterling says it's not enough, even after the state increased Medicaid reimbursement rates last year.
"Is that sufficient?" McNicholas asked.
"Absolutely not," Easterling said.
Easterling works with One Brooklyn Health, which now runs Interfaith, Kingsbrook and Brookdale -- hospitals that merged due to financial struggles.
"The state and the federal government, we really have to figure out a solution ... to ensure that folks have the health coverage that they need and those resources are going to shore up the facilities that are providing those services," Easterling said.
Another hospital at risk of closing is SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn. An advisory board is now working on recommendations on how the state should handle the financially struggling medical center. That report is due next year.
The state health department would not agree to an interview with CBS New York, but in 2023, the state increased Medicaid inpatient hospital rates by 7.5% and outpatient hospital rates by 6.5%. A department spokesperson also said that a $37 billion Medicaid investment, included in Gov. Kathy Hochul's 2025 budget, will "support the health care safety net."
