Rockaways residents need to travel almost an hour to the nearest trauma center. Leaders want to change that.
NEW YORK — Residents in the Rockaways worry that the 10-mile trip trauma patients need to take to Jamaica Hospital could be putting lives in jeopardy.
A rally was held Friday to call for a trauma center to serve the community.
"People bleed out in minutes"
In the event of an emergency, every second counts. For the more than 120,000 residents in the Rockaways, seconds turn into almost an hour to reach the nearest trauma center.
"You do not have 40 minutes to go to the nearest trauma hospital. You will bleed out. People bleed out in minutes. And yet at the same time, it can be stopped," said Dr. Mitchell Katz, president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals.
Katz and Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers head the Far Rockaway Trauma and Health Access Task Force, which has helped secure $25 million in the city's fiscal year 2025 capital budget to help push plans forward.
"Now take it to the next step where you have great state lawmakers go to Albany and fight to make sure we bring this home and land the plane of getting a trauma center here," Mayor Eric Adams said.
A spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul's office told CBS News New York in a statement, "The state has delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to support local health and hospital resources in the Rockaways and is committed to ensuring the best health outcomes for Queens residents and all New Yorkers."
As for where the trauma center would go, the task force said it's still conducting assessments on a few locations, considering a vacant lot near public transportation and not too close to any residences.
"We need to save lives"
Back in March, NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller was shot during a traffic stop in Far Rockaway. Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry believes a closer trauma center could've saved him.
"It needs to happen sooner than later. We need to save lives like Jonathan wanted to do," Hendry said.
"We don't wanna go so far to get our help," Far Rockaway resident Latisha Delvalle said. "We need it right here where we are, just like everybody else."
Delvalle said this is at least the fourth time she's seen calls for the center to be built. This time, she's optimistic.
"What I see is more people out. More, bigger faces. So hopefully it gets somewhere now," she said.
