Union, Community and Local Officials Rally to Save St. Vincent's Hospital
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Over 600 Greenwich Village community residents, hospital workers and local elected officials came together on January 28 to speak out against proposed plans to close St. Vincent's Hospital in that historic Manhattan neighborhood and convert it into an out-patient clinic.
Eliminating the emergency room and acute care services would jeopardize the health and well being of the people who rely so heavily on these critical services. St. Vincent's Hospital is crucial to providing access to healthcare for neighborhoods stretching from Downtown to Midtown—a catchment area of hundreds of thousands of patients.
It is also the only trauma center on the lower part of the Westside of Manhattan and St. Vincent’s caregivers played an heroic role in treating the survivors of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, along with other elected officials who represent the communities surrounding the hospital, expressed their outrage at what is considered to be unconscionable given the need for access to vital healthcare services.
Others who have voiced opposition to the proposed closing of the hospital include NYC Comptroller John Liu, Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, U.S. Rep Jerrold Nadler, State Senator Thomas K. Duane and Assemblymembers Deborah J. Glick and Richard Gottfried.
Hospital workers expressed the same concern for the people they care for everyday. Community residents signed letters addressed to NYS Health Commissioner Richard Daines, urging him to consider the impact the hospital closure will have on the people it serves.
The fight to Save St. Vincent's Hospital continues, on Tuesday, February 9 at 5pm a community rally in the auditorium of SEIU Local 32BJ (between Grand Street and Watts Street, one block from Canal Street). All 1199SEIU members are encouraged to attend the rally to support their brothers and sisters and the community that so desperately needs to keep their hospital open.