PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Sommer Omar, Attorney representing community plaintiffs in lawsuit to keep Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital open
3:22:55
·
141 sec
Sommer Omar, an attorney representing community plaintiffs, testifies against the closure of Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital. She argues that nearby hospitals lack the capacity to absorb Beth Israel's patients, especially in emergencies, which could lead to longer wait times and worse care.
- Omar cites Department of Health data showing Bellevue and NYU Langone are already over capacity (108% and 157% respectively in April 2024).
- She highlights the lack of a credible plan to expand infrastructure and staffing to accommodate the 60,000+ annual emergency patients from Beth Israel.
- Omar urges officials to either keep Beth Israel open or work with the community to find a solution that doesn't negatively impact Lower Manhattan healthcare.
Sommer Omar
3:22:55
Good afternoon.
3:22:56
My name is Summer Omar.
3:22:57
I'm one of the attorneys representing community plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuit to keep Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital open.
3:23:04
We have been arguing since we first filed our papers in February, that the Department of Health should not have approved Beth Israel's closure because the remaining hospitals located nearby, specifically Bellevue and NYU Langone simply do not have the capacity to properly care for patients that would have ordinarily gone to Beth Israel.
3:23:22
Especially emergency patients.
3:23:25
According to the Department of Health's own guidelines, the hospital that is shutting down has to ensure that surrounding area hospitals have the capacity to absorb those surplus patients.
3:23:36
That is simply not the case here.
3:23:39
Current occupancy data shows that both Bellevue and NYU Langhorne are already overcapacity.
3:23:44
According to the Department of Health's own data, Bellevue's average occupancy was 108% in April 2024.
3:23:52
NYU's average occupancy was 157 percent in April 2024.
3:23:58
What's alarming is that this data is in the State Department of Health's possession, yet there is no credible plan in their own administrative record for either one of these facilities to be able to suddenly expand their physical infrastructure, staffing capacity, and resources to be able to absorb the more than 60,000 patients who visit Beth Israel's emergency department annually.
3:24:20
This will lead lead to a grim domino effect that others have already testified to, where patients will experience longer wait times, worse care, or will be diverted to hospitals even further away while they're in the midst of an emergency.
3:24:33
After Saint Vincent's hospital closed in 2010, Lower Manhattan was told not to worry because we'd still have Beth Israel to the east.
3:24:41
And analysis following the closure of Saint Vincent's found that patients did shift to Beth Israel for emergency care.
3:24:47
If Beth Israel closes without an alternative hospital to go to, hundreds of thousands of people who live in, work in, or simply happen to be downtown during a healthcare emergency will be left asking, well, now what?
3:24:59
This is just not tenable, and this community has been fighting tooth and nail for a year to find another solution.
3:25:05
I urge you to both call amount scientists to stay open or to come to the table and work with the community to find a way forward that doesn't wreak havoc in the warm Manhattan.
3:25:15
Thank you for your time.
