New York Gov. David A. Paterson says the state will help to maintain healthcare service in Greenwich Village following the closure of Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center.
Paterson has announced the release of a Request for Grant Applications for the development of a new model of urgent care services.
The board of directors of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Center voted to authorize the closure of St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan inpatient services including all acute, rehab, and behavioral health. The vote came after a six-month long effort to save the financially troubled institution, which has operated in the Village for more than 160 years.
“This project will help maintain access to needed urgent care services in Greenwich Village," the governor said. "I am confident that the other providers in the area will come forward with resourceful proposals to ensure that St. Vincent's patients continue to receive timely and high quality care."
“In addition to supporting this new model of care, the New York State Department of Health is working closely with the hospital and other area providers to ensure an orderly and safe transition for SVCMC's patients, as well as continued access to all of the vital healthcare services currently provided by the hospital, from HIV care to behavioral health services,” he said.
According to the New York Times, Beth Israel Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital Center – both east of St. Vincent’s – have already reported an increased number of emergency patients from the Village area.
The hospital began to lay off more than 300 workers in early February in an attempt to avert a complete shutdown.
"The decision to close St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan inpatient services was made only after the board, management and our advisers exhausted every possible alternative," said Alfred E. Smith IV, chairman of the board of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers.
The board vote will be followed by submission of a closure plan to the Department of Health. Pursuant to the plan, all St. Vincent's patients will be discharged or transferred to nearby non-affiliated hospitals, as appropriate.
Grant applications will be due April 16, 2010. Hospitals and diagnostic and treatment centers are eligible to submit proposals.
The project will be designed to establish a new model of care where patients can receive urgent healthcare services on a walk-in basis. It will also look to create comprehensive ambulatory care, including basic medical imaging, laboratory services, use of electronic medical records and accessibility to and the ability to provide rapid transit to full-service emergency rooms available for life-threatening conditions.
The remaining parts of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Center, including its nursing homes, home health agency, St. Vincent's Hospital Westchester, and US Family Health Plan, will continue to operate without interruption as the organization finalizes sales of those entities to other providers.