As a proud New Yorker I've naturally developed an outer layer of leather-like skin. This personal upgrade supplements the human bodies already perfect system, while shielding me from 99.9% of the local, national, and international atrocities that burden most of our nation. Naturally I'm here today to talk about that mystical .01 percentile. Today's proverbial "bullet" comes in the form of a closing...Sorry guys I'm not talking about Shea stadium being imploded, nor your favorite bar's bankruptcy claim. I'm talking about a facility directly responsible for 60,000 ER visits and 20,000 surgeries a year. The April 6th announcement to close Saint Vincents Hospital (NYC)leaves me both angered and puzzled. Fundamentally speaking, what can be more important than preserving human life? What budget, law, tariff, penalty or memo can be more important then a single human life? Never mind that it's the only hospital for a five-and-a-half mile stretch of the west side of Manhattan. Never mind that over the weekend, Beth Israel Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital Center — both east of St. Vincent’s — reported an increased number of emergency patients from the Village area...hmmmm I wonder if it's same area that Saint Vincent's used to be responsible for. What about the Asian community in neighboring Chinatown? Saint Vincent's independent Chinese-speaking inpatient unit, has employed Doctors and nurses who speak Cantonese and Mandarin. Who is going to fill that void? I am, better yet, we are. We are all accountable for a small cog in this machine, lets turn it around.
Not to continue this rant much further than it's already gone, i'll close with this. I'm going to do everything possible to re-open that hospital. Even though there's a 99.9% chance i'll fail, .01% goes quite a long way when failure is not an option...
Saint Vincent's Hospital
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