The fight to save the community hospital is still not over. I continue to remain hopeful that we will prevail and that the hospital will not close down. CommunityHospitalmakes money and provides the community with outstanding services. It’s vital to our community.
PAUL FEINER
News from NYS Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: June 14th
CONTACT: Gustavo Rivera (914) 771-4190
Roger Noyes (518) 455-2415
Senator Stewart-Cousins:ClosingCommunityHospitalat Dobbs Ferry “Is Just Plain Wrong”
WestchesterDemocrat criticizes GOP Senate for playing politics with healthcare; vows to continue the fight
State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) today offered an amendment to a legislative measure that would have spared Community Hospital at Dobbs Ferry from closing, as is its current fate under requirements made by a state commission last year. Stewart-Cousins expressed her extreme disappointment as her amendment was voted down along party lines.
“My legislative colleagues on both sides of the aisle clearly recognize that the Commission failed in some cases to get accurate and timely data, or they erred in their conclusions,” said Stewart-Cousins. “Either way, closing this hospital is just plain wrong.
“I just don't understand how the Senate Republicans could vote to keep one hospital open in a Republican Senate district, and yet not support keeping our community hospital in Dobbs Ferry open,” Senator Stewart-Cousins said. “It saddens me when they play politics with something as important as access to health care.”
The Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, often called the Berger Commission, proposed closing nine New Yorkhospitals as part of a sweeping healthcare reform package. Senate Republicans today introduced a bill to exempt Bellevue Women’s Hospital, of Niskayuna, New York, from following the statewide restructuring plan, ordering it to remain open.
“If the Berger Commission’s recommendations could be wrong in Niskayuna, they could be just as wrong in Dobbs Ferry,” Senator Stewart-Cousins said. “The Legislature should be making these decisions based on local needs and input, not because of partisan politics.”
Senator Stewart-Cousins said she found serious flaws in the Commission’s report on CommunityHospitalat Dobbs Ferry. For example, the hospital, the fastest growing facility in the region, is profitable. In the last four years, the facility has seen a 12 percent jump in hospital discharges, as 24 percent increase in ambulatory services and a 17 percent increase in emergency room visits.
“I’ve been working all year to bring needed reforms to New York’s health care system,” Senator Stewart-Cousins concluded. “What we have in Dobbs Ferry is a hospital that’s functioning, profitable and much loved in the community. There just isn't any compelling reason to close it and I want the residents in our community to know I will continue this fight.”
Office of New YorkStateSenator
