'Hospital Closings Would Be Too Great a Loss,’ Weiner Says
After Mary Immaculate Hospital treated family members who suffered from injuries as a result of a fire, Representative Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn and Queens) renewed calls for the State Department of Health to keep both St. John’s and Mary Immaculate hospitals open. Both hospitals filed for bankruptcy and are currently awaiting the state to provide additional temporary aid to avoid closure.
The family, which included a 29 year-old mother and two young children ages 5 and 9, were in critical condition and treated at Mary Immaculate and Jamaica hospitals. A fire broke out in their two-story Ozone Park home. The family was then transferred to the burn unit at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Rep. Weiner pointed out the critical role of these hospitals and the countless lives saved. In a recent letter to the State Department of Health, Rep. Weiner called for granting hospitals a 90-day reprieve to create a restructuring plan. The two hospitals service approximately 200,000 Queens residents and employs 2,500 medical and health-care workers.
Rep. Weiner said, “Every Queens resident deserves quality, affordable health care. The closing of St. John’s and Mary Immaculate hospitals would be too great a loss. We must give them a lifeboat so that they can continue to provide excellent care that residents have been receiving for decades.”
