PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Renee Kinsella, longtime resident of Manhattan, on the closure of Mount Sinai Beth Israel
3:01:10
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128 sec
Renee Kinsella, a longtime Manhattan resident, strongly opposes the closure of Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital. She shares her personal experiences with the hospital and expresses concerns about the community's access to healthcare if the hospital closes.
- Kinsella highlights the importance of Beth Israel as a cornerstone of the community, where she and many others have received care throughout their lives.
- She raises concerns about the potential impact of the City of Yes for Housing plan, which could increase population density and strain healthcare access.
- Kinsella urges the council to support resolutions to stop the hospital's closure and ensure community involvement in healthcare decisions.
Renee Kinsella
3:01:10
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.
3:01:12
My name is Renee Kinsella, and I'm a longtime resident who raised 3 children on the east side of Manhattan.
3:01:17
I very much opposed the closure of Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
3:01:21
Beth Israel has been a cornerstone of the community ever since I can remember.
3:01:25
I had my 3 children there and most of my friends had their kids at Beth Israel too.
3:01:29
It then became the place we brought our kids with scrapes and breaks and where many of us as we've gotten older have had surgery or inpatient care.
3:01:38
Last September, I woke up in the middle of the night thinking I had food poisoning turned out to be an obstructed bow, which causes a lot of pain.
3:01:45
Practically delirious, I went to the Beth Israel emergency room for help, and I received excellent care both in the ER and then as an inpatient for several days.
3:01:54
My intake and move to the hospital was seamless.
3:01:58
My understanding though is that last week, the emergency room at Bellevue had over 70 people in the emergency department waiting for a bed.
3:02:06
This is why Beth Israel is still open.
3:02:08
If the city of yes for housing is approved, it'll no doubt create even more units and bring more people to the neighborhood.
3:02:14
And I am concerned that people, my neighbors, myself, and friends, will be unable to access care in a timely way, if at all, if this and other hospitals close.
3:02:23
Our award winning Beth Israel hospital that had always been a wonderful and accessible place to obtain care in every specialty area has been disassembled by Mount Sinai department by department.
3:02:34
Hospital administrators told us that they would not fund our local Mount Sinai Bet Israel hospital and instead told us they'd create centers of excellent at their other existing hospitals so as to better serve us the local community without ever discussing with us or our legislators what we might actually want or need.
3:02:51
Hospital administrators alone have made the decisions regarding Beth Israel that would determine how, and if our community can access care.
3:02:59
I believe that this issue is one everyone should have the opportunity to weigh in on given that people's lives may be at stake, which is why I hope that this council will support council member Rivera's resolutions to stop the closure of our hospital and ensure that the community and our local government has a voice in these closer discussions.
3:03:16
Thank you.
