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Berger Commission recommendations and hospital closure process explained

1:12:24

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Dr. Vincent Calamia provides a detailed explanation of the Berger Commission's recommendations and the process of hospital closures in Queens. He discusses the rationale behind the closures, the impact assessment process, and the transition approach used.

The commission focused on assessing the capacity and absorbability of surrounding facilities
The goal was to transition healthcare more towards community and primary care
The process involved input from all facilities and ensuring surrounding hospitals could absorb the impact of closures
Dr. Calamia emphasizes the orderly fashion of the process and the funding provided by the state for transitions

Keith Powers

1:12:24

Thank you.

1:12:26

I just have a few questions.

1:12:28

Doctor.

1:12:28

Klamia, you worked You served on the Burger Commission on Healthcare Facilities, which recommend the closure of hospitals and queens before the COVID 19 pandemic and miss Tate, you're recommended for appointment by the Queen's delegation to the city council.

1:12:45

Can you talk about the closure of hospitals and queens, which many folks have discussed about, leaked overcrowding, especially during during the COVID 19 pandemic, we saw Queen's being epicenter and what what particularly went wrong there.

Dr. Vincent Calamia

1:13:00

So With respect to the closure, there was one particular facility, which is a private probably the last privately held hospital actually.

1:13:10

In in in the state.

1:13:12

And the and the issue was at that time, which the state really did a lot of homework on, was to look at actually what the capacity of the surrounding facilities were and what's called the absorbability, which is if that facility were to close.

1:13:27

What would be the impact.

1:13:29

I don't think anyone could have anticipated situation like COVID situation At that time, particularly the theory was we were over bedded.

1:13:39

We had too many beds.

1:13:40

And in fact, we should be redirecting health care more to the community.

1:13:45

More to primary care and less to the in house facilities.

1:13:49

And so what did happen at that point though is that there were really, and I hope something that will happen in the future with some of the imminent closings that we're aware of.

1:14:00

Was that there was a input by every facility those that were in fact, does it needed to downsize or to close?

1:14:10

And and likewise, information was provided to be sure the surrounding facilities could absorb the closed facility.

1:14:21

Closure wasn't actually the goal necessarily.

1:14:23

It was transition.

1:14:25

And so the one particular hospital in Queens I'm familiar with did have opportunity for potentially working with hospital systems and decreasing beds and so on that didn't occur.

1:14:39

Some of the other facilities did, and in fact, were able to be incorporated.

1:14:44

And health and hospitals played a big role.

1:14:46

In fact, Health And Hospitals was a heavily represented at the time on the commission.

1:14:51

And again, It was done in a very orderly fashion.

1:14:56

There was a tremendous amount of input from the hospitals, from the surrounding facilities.

1:15:01

And a lot of information and funding from the state to be sure that transition could take place.

1:15:06

And again, as we apply those type of principles to some of the facilities we're looking at when they go forward, I would hope that a similar process will take place.

1:15:17

I haven't seen that at this stage, but I'm hopeful that will occur.

1:15:20

I

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Assessment and management of hospital closures' impact