DOH: No Decision Has Been Made For Rockaway Hospital Changes

QUEENS, NY – The New York Department of Health says it has not recommended or decided on proposed cost-cutting plans at St. John's Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway, following outcry from politicians and the union representing hospital staff members.

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, the Department of Health said it has been working with the hospital for several years on efforts to improve health outcomes and access.

"Contrary to published reports, the Department has not recommended nor decided on any of the recent proposals developed that would make changes at St. John's Episcopal, and this it would be premature to do so without further analysis and stakeholder engagement," the department said in the statement.

Earlier this week, the Queens Daily Eagle reported the Health Department was 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."

The Department of Health said the state's operating support for St. John's Episcopal has increased by 50 percent since 2019 and totaled approximately $60 million last year. The department said the governor's executive budget will provide the same level of financial support for the hospital in the upcoming fiscal year.

"St. John's Episcopal has played a critical role in the State's response to the COVID-19 public health crisis," the department said in the statement. "The Department of Health is committed to working closely with the management and board of St. John's Episcopal, the community served, our partners in labor and elected officials in identifying a modernized and sustainable strategy for delivering high-quality healthcare in the Far Rockaways."

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."

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.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.

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.