New York hospital closings under way |
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Fri, 30 Nov 2007 22:19
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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Efforts to close nine hospitals, restructure 50 more and cut nearly 3,000 nursing home beds under the state's plan to overhaul the health system are well under way, according to the state Health Department.'Implementing the Berger Commission's recommendations is critical to making health care in New York more efficient, affordable and patient focused,' Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Friday. 'We are already seeing tremendous progress with respect to implementation and beginning to feel the transformative effects.'Closing underused hospitals and wings in favor of more outpatient care was recommended at the end of the Pataki administration by the Berger Commission, which he appointed. The plan was to update New York's health care system to save Medicaid costs and improve care. The recommendation became law on Jan. 1.Three of the nine hospitals have been shuttered ahead of schedule: Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, St. Vincent's Midtown in Manhattan, and Bellevue Woman's Hospital in Schenectady County.Kingston Hospital and Benedictine Hospital in Ulster County are among the facilities that struck operating agreements.Several long-term care facilities have eliminated beds ahead of schedule, including Brunswick Hospital Center in Suffolk County, which closed all of its 94 beds, and Mount View Health Facility in Niagara County, which is planning to close its 172 beds by Dec. 31.Many of the closings were painful for communities where hospitals have been longtime fixtures and major employers.The state is providing $550 million in transitional aid to help in the closings and consolidations, said Health Department spokeswoman Claudia Hutton.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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