City set to close detox units at two Queens hospitals

The city will close the detox unit at Jamaica Hospital. Photo by Paul Sableman/Flickr.

By Jonathan Sperling

Inpatient detox units at each of the 11 city-operated hospitals, including two in Queens, will close, forcing individuals with substance abuse disorders to seek treatment in emergency rooms instead.

The closures, which were first reported by THE CITY on Monday, affect two hospitals in Queens run by NYC Health + Hospitals, one in Elmhurst and one in Jamaica. The shutdown is expected to occur over the course of the next few weeks.

Detox units at NYC Health + Hospitals provide care for individuals addicted to opiates and alcohol, offer medical detoxification and provide referrals for outpatient care. The detox unit at Elmhurst Hospital offers specialized support groups for women, seniors and Spanish speakers.

Health + Hospitals, Elmhurst Hospital did not provide a response when contacted by the Eagle.

Leon Bell, director of public policy for the New York State Nurses Association, told THE CITY that city-run hospitals provide the largest percentage of detox services in the city. More than 40 percent of alcohol-use cases, 37 percent of cocaine use and 35 percent of other drug-use inpatient discharges are handled at city-run hospitals. 

“We approach any such closing with great concern about the fate of patients deemed in serious need of acute care,” Bell told THE CITY. “We are not opposed to transitions to new care settings so long as the quality of the care for all New Yorkers is guaranteed.”

These patients will now be processed through already-busy hospital emergency rooms.

In 2018, doctors at NYC Health + Hospitals, Elmhurst handled more than 130,000 emergency room encounters. The hospital recently announced that it would be expanding its emergency department to the tune of $43 million, adding 33 new patient rooms, among other additions.