REMARKS
Council Member Lynn Schulman addresses the impact of hospital closures in New York City
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3 min
Council Member Lynn Schulman, Chair of the NYC Council Committee on Health, delivers remarks on the critical issue of hospital closures in New York City. She highlights the impending closure of Mount Sinai Beth Israel and possible closure of SUNY Downstate, discussing the historical context of hospital closures and their impact on healthcare access across the city's boroughs.
- Schulman emphasizes the disparity in hospital bed availability across boroughs, with Manhattan having significantly more beds per capita than other boroughs.
- She supports legislation requiring community involvement in hospital closure decisions and stresses the need for affordable, preventive, and primary care.
- Schulman draws from her personal experience as a healthcare advocate and breast cancer survivor to underscore the importance of addressing these issues.
Lynn Schulman
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I am counsel member Lynn Schulman, Chair of the New York City Council Committee on Health.
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I want to thank all of you for joining us at today's hearing with the committee and hospitals chaired by my esteemed colleague, counsel member Mercedes Northeast.
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Today, we will be discussing the impact of hospital closures in New York City, an issue that I've been committed to addressing since the start of my first city council campaign in 2021.
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The primary focus of this hearing is the impending closure of Mount Sinai Beth Israel in Lower Manhattan, the possible closure of SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, and the impact that such closures would have on the surrounding communities, including access to care and workforce reductions.
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Hospital closures are not a novel issue.
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Over the past 2 decades, the city has lost in a alarming number of hospitals from from 2003 to 2014, the number of hospitals dropped by more than 20%.
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Several hospitals and queens have closed, such as St.
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Joseph's Hospital on Flushing, New Parkway Hospital on Forest Hills, Mary immaculate Hospital on Jamaica, Saint John's Hospital on Elmhurst, and Peninsula Hospital entering Far Rockaway.
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The consequences have been devastating, and it is clear that New York has cannot afford to lose locally available care when it is needed most.
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It is no surprise that the difference in hospital capacity between the boroughs is drastic.
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While Manhattan has approximately 6 hospital beds for every 1000 residents, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens each have less than half that number.
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Queens has the lowest bed to resident ratio of any borough at just 1.4 beds per 1000 residents.
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Organizers have long fought the closure of hospitals in the city, fueled partly in response to the 2005 state Medicaid reduction task force led by Stephen Berger.
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The Burger Commission proposed cutting health care costs by closing quote unquote unprofitable hospitals or in other words, hospitals that serve the most vulnerable New Yorkers.
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That mentality is unacceptable today, and we will not allow that mentality to be the leading voice for this city or state.
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That is why I am a co sponsor of council member Rivera's resolution the calls on the state legislature to pass and the governor to sign the local input and community health care act, which would require advanced notice and engagement with the community before the hospital submits its final closure plan ensuring transparency and public involvement in the process.
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I firmly believe that there can be no decisions made for us without us, especially when it comes to our healthcare.
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This legislation is currently awaiting the governor's signature, and I hope that Governor Hoco approves this legislation So the public has ample opportunity to consider the impacts of hospital closures on public health, on the healthcare workforce, and on the city's preparedness for future major health crises.
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I have dedicated my personal and professional life to healthcare advocacy.
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As someone who has had firsthand experience working in the healthcare field, and as a breast cancer survivor, I believe that these issues must be addressed to ensure that New Yorkers' lives aren't put in jeopardy because of a failing system.
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Not only are we in desperate need of additional hospital capacity and community based services, but we need a system that can provide affordable, preventive, and primary care.
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The COVID 19 pandemic underscored the need for improved local access to quality care within our communities, and we cannot be left with another fatal shortage of hospital capacity when the next pandemic or crisis emerges.
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No matter what ZIP code you live in, you should be able to have access to quality, affordable health care.
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I want to conclude by thanking chair Nocities, my colleagues, and the administration for being here.
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I also want to thank the health and hospital's committee staff as well as my own team.
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I will now turn the mic over to council member of Rivera to make a statement on her resolution.
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Oh, and I also want to acknowledge we've been joined by council member Zhu Wang and council member Joseph.
