De Blasio '110% Opposed' To Proposed Cuts At Queens Hospital

QUEENS, NY – Mayor Bill de Blasio is calling a proposed plan to cut capacity at Far Rockaway's only hospital "absolutely unacceptable," almost exactly a year after the hospital treated Queens' first COVID-19 case.

The New York Health Department is backing a plan to cut capacity and eliminate hundreds of employees at St. John's Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway, turning the hospital into a 15-bed "micro hospital," according to the Queens Daily Eagle.

The Department of Health has not required the hospital to implement any of the proposed plans and a decision has not been made, according to spokesperson Erin Silk

"The Department looks forward to working with the leadership of St. John's Episcopal, together with the workers, elected officials and other stakeholders, in reviewing these options, among others, to find a solution that will work for all parties," Silk said in a prepared statement. "In the meantime, the State is continuing to provide substantial operating support to St. John's Episcopal."

Far Rockaway has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with 418 coronavirus-related deaths reported by the New York City Health Department. According to the data, one out of every 10 people in ZIP code 11691 – where St. John's is located – was diagnosed with COVID-19, and one out of every 159 people died of COVID-19. The death rate in Far Rockaway, 625 per 100,000, is significantly higher than New York City's death rate of 294 per 100,000.

Consulting firm ToneyKorf Partners LLC, working with the state health department, proposed several cost-cutting measures to the hospital last week.

One option would be to reduce the number of beds from 257 to 91 and eliminate obstetrics, newborn and pediatric services. A second option would include turning the hospital into a 30-bed "health plex," with 337 staff members. A third option would turn the hospital into a 15-bed "micro hospital" – a plan that health department officials favored, according to the Queens Daily Eagle, which first published the plans.

Speaking on the issue during a press conference Wednesday, de Blasio said the state was "out of touch with reality" in considering the proposal.

"People in the Rockaways need more health care not less," he said. "And in the middle of pandemic, talk about taking away the one hospital they have? That's ridiculous."

De Blasio said the proposed plan should be "shelved immediately" in favor of strengthening health care for those who live in the Rockaways.

"The Rockaways has taken it on the chin for generations,” he said. “We need to strengthen the healthcare in the Rockaways, not deprive the people of the Rockaways of what they need."

“I am 110 percent opposed to that state plan to take away health care services from the people of the Rockaways,” de Blasio said.

In a statement released Wednesday, 1199SEIU – the union that represents hospital employees – called for officials to stop the scale-down.

"1199SEIU members at St. John's Episcopal in Far Rockaway have dedicated themselves selflessly throughout the pandemic to meet the many needs of the peninsula's residents and our Union has fought to make sure that local healthcare services are preserved and expanded," said 1199SEIU Senior Executive Vice President Veronica Turner-Biggs in the statement. "This proposal must be immediately withdrawn and the State Department of Health must meaningfully engage with stakeholders to create a path forward."

Steve Korf, Senior Managing Director of ToneyKorf Partners, said the consulting firm began working in March 2019 to analyze cost-cutting options for the hospital.

"As a result of ToneyKorf's review, the hospital realized approximately $24 million of improvements after the first year of engagement," Korf said in a prepared statement.

In the fall of 2020, the hospital was asked to prepare a contingency plan for a potential 20 percent reduction in state funding, according to Korf.

"As a consequence of that request, ToneyKorf Partners was asked to prepare analyses of several alternate operating scenarios to prevent the increase in state funding needs," Korf said.

In a Twitter thread Tuesday, Mayoral Candidate Maya Wiley said the proposed cuts would be "devastating."

"Choosing to limit care to a 15-bed microhospital [sic] is negligent," Wiley wrote. "It is a death sentence."

In a tweet Tuesday, Comptroller and mayoral candidate Scott Stringer called the proposed plan "immoral and dangerous" and called for the state to reconsider.

"The way to make our most critical safety net systems more financially stable is not to shut them down, but rather to reinvest and reinvigorate them," Stringer wrote.