Nurses Speak Out: Keep Mount Vernon Hospital Open For Care!

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y., July 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Members of the New York State Nurses Association, joined by community advocates, elected officials and religious leaders, are speaking out about the shutdown last week of the Intensive Care Units at Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital ("MMV"), amid COVID-19 pandemic. The closure and dismantling of ICUs, as well as emptying of Telemetry Units and the limiting of admissions to the Medical/Surgery Unit, leave the largely African American population of Mount Vernon highly vulnerable.

The closures come as a resurgence of the COVID-19 virus in metro NYC continues to be predicted.  More than 2,700 Mount Vernon residents have already contracted COVID-19 and 1,410 residents of Westchester County have lost their lives.  Nurses are among the many voices demanding that every available resource be afforded to the people of Mount Vernon in the face of the deadly virus. On July 7^th, NYSNA Executive Director Pat Kane, RN, wrote to Health Commissioner Howard A. Zucker, M.D., raising these concerns.

Moreover, during the pandemic, MMV was at capacity for COVID-19 patients and some patients were transferred to other facilities where they were placed in hallways and closets.

Yet the parent company, Montefiore Health System, which across all divisions posted total revenue of $6.2 billion last year, seems determined to deny Mount Vernon residents critical care to fight the virus.  It was this same company that promised in 2016 to expand MMV.  

Nurses and others cite another compelling reason to keep MMV open for care: without the hospital and critical care units mortality rates are sure to go up. Those suffering heart attacks, strokes, serious accidents and other life-threatening events must go elsewhere, adding precious time to their emergencies and ultimately raising the city's death rate. Nurses estimate that deaths from heart attack will now be 4-9% higher with the critical care closures at MMV.   

"We are fighting for lives here on two fronts," said NYSNA's Executive Director Pat Kane, RN.  "The first is to keep open critical care units when the coronavirus is still very active.  Second, Mount Vernon residents now need to travel to another city for serious emergencies. How many reasons do you need to keep your community hospital open?"

"Some of our patients need dialysis, have diabetes, or need cardiac care and are emergency cases. The ICU is essential to the community," said MMV ICU nurse Kameisha Brown, RN. "Montefiore is ignoring us. They are just moving forward with the closure. We are a hospital of mostly Black nurses and they are not treating us fairly, not treating the community fairly.  We need justice."

"Throughout this pandemic, the City of Mount Vernon has been one of the hardest hit areas in Westchester County. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is that our community desperately needs more access to emergency and intensive-care services, not less. I stand firmly with the New York State Nurses Association, advocates, and my colleagues in government in calling for the full reopening and revitalization of Mount Vernon Hospital. Now more than ever, we must invest in the resources and infrastructure our communities need to survive and prosper," said State Senator Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx/Westchester).

"We will not allow Montefiore to gamble with the public health and safety of our residents. Montefiore is continuing to systematically remove and shift services out of a community that they themselves reported to be medically underserved. If All Lives Matter, then Black lives should matter too, and Dr. Ozuah and the Montefiore Health System should come to the table to prevent the closure of our hospital during a pandemic. Montefiore cannot continue to use Mount Vernon's healthcare numbers to push resources into more wealthy communities, or their actions will be seen as violent and negligent towards Mount Vernon. We are calling on our state and federal elected officials to take a stand with Mount Vernon to ensure that the safety and welfare of our community is a priority. Mount Vernon deserves a fully functioning, fully staffed hospital, especially in this season of COVID-19, and beyond," said Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard.

"The population that depends on this hospital is largely African American, and we're in the middle of a pandemic that is disproportionately infecting and killing African Americans. This is the worst possible time to be shutting down intensive care units. This is the problem with a health care system that values profit over human lives – particularly Black lives. That's why I'm standing with nurses who are fighting for justice and demanding that every possible medical resource be available for the people of Mount Vernon as we battle this deadly virus," said Democratic Candidate for U.S. Congress New York - District 16, Jamaal Bowman.

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York's largest union and professional association for registered nurses. For more information, please visit our website at www.nysna.org.

SOURCE New York State Nurses Association

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