PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Registered Nurse from SUNY Downstate Emergency Room on Hospital Closure Impact
2:19:23
·
175 sec
A registered nurse from SUNY Downstate Emergency Room testifies about the critical importance of keeping the hospital open, emphasizing its role in serving the local minority community and providing specialized medical services. The nurse shares personal experiences and highlights the potential devastating impact of the hospital's closure on patient care and medical education.
- The nurse has worked at SUNY Downstate for 22 years and lives in the community it serves.
- SUNY Downstate is described as a certified stroke center, transplant facility, and one of the only hospitals offering pediatric dialysis.
- The hospital is credited with producing 90% of the doctors serving the community, particularly minority doctors.
UNKNOWN
2:19:23
Good afternoon.
2:19:24
Thank you for having me community cheer, Mercedes, nurses, and other members of the panel.
2:19:31
I'm simply here as a registered nurse who is currently employed in the emergency room at Sunidown State.
Mercedes Narcisse
2:19:40
I think someone next to you saying that she cannot hear, so if you can put the mic closer so she can hear, a little closer to you.
2:19:48
Yes.
UNKNOWN
2:19:52
As I was saying, I'm here as a registered nurse who is currently employed at Sunidown State in the emergency department.
2:20:03
I've been there for the past 22 years.
2:20:06
And I can testify firsthand to the impact that the closure of Sunidown state will have on the community I live in the community.
2:20:18
I left the city to come back to the community so I could serve the people who look like me.
2:20:24
And as you may or may not know, we have a high incident of diabetes, kidney failure, heart disease, hypertension, or community the minority compute communities impacted the most.
2:20:40
And if this hospital is closed, than we call it.
2:20:45
I referred to it as medical suicide.
2:20:48
My mother, as I'm speaking to you near now, is a patient in the hospital.
2:20:52
I used the hospital for my entire family, and I've had my treatment there.
2:20:58
And I remember when my mother had a stroke, which we are a certified stroke center.
2:21:04
She was taken there.
2:21:05
She is fully recovered.
2:21:07
And at eight to nine years old, she has her mental capacity.
2:21:11
Not only are we a transplant facility, we are one of the only hospital that offers pediatric dialysis.
2:21:20
We are also a hospital that take care of people who are STEMI.
2:21:28
And so I just wanna emphasize that the closure of the hospital, which is the epicenter, teaching hospital, that, you know, produces 90% of the doctors serving in this community, and minority doctors too, it's gonna be impacted tremendously by the neighborhood in and around.
2:21:53
There's no resource for those people to travel to the city if they have a stroke.
2:22:00
By the time they get there, they'll be flat lined, meaning they'll be there.
2:22:04
So I implore all parties involved to ensure that we keep our hospital in our community so that we can continue to offer the services that we offer to those who are underserved.
2:22:18
Thank you.
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Testimony by Chatodd Floyd, Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs at Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) on Hospital Closures and Medicaid Funding
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Testimony by Madeline Villalba, Medical Student and Member of Commission on the Public Health System (CPHS) on Hospital Closures
