Mayor, candidates and Queens leaders slam plans to downsize Rockaway hospital
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Staff at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in September 2020. Photo courtesy of St. John’s Episcopal
By David Brand
Mayor Bill de Blasio slammed a state-backed proposal to slash capacity at the Rockaway Peninsula’s lone medical center Wednesday, calling a plan to convert St. John’s Episcopal Hospital into a 15-bed clinic “ridiculous” and “absolutely unacceptable.”
De Blasio joined a cavalcade of candidates, unions and Queens leaders condemning a consulting firm’s plan to drastically cut beds and services at St. John’s Episcopal first reported by the Eagle Wednesday. The safety net hospital is located in a Far Rockaway zip code with New York City’s second-highest COVID death rate and serves predominantly Black residents of the region.
“I am 110 percent opposed to that state plan to take away healthcare services from people in the Rockaways. It’s absolutely unacceptable,” de Blasio told reporters Wednesday. “People in the Rockaways need more healthcare not less in the middle of the pandemic, and talking about taking away the one hospital they have, that’s ridiculous.”
One proposal from the firm ToneyKorf Partners LLC would see the 257-bed medical center converted to a “micro hospital” with 15 inpatient beds and about 40 behavioral health beds. That plan has the support of the state Health Department, hospital officials told the Eagle.
“I don’t know how the state could be more out of touch with reality,” de Blasio said.
One of ToneyKorf’s former administrators, Dr. Richard Becker, was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo as deputy director of the state Department of Health and Human Services in August 2020. Rockaway Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato said she was “stunned” by Becker’s involvement.
“This plan is completely inconsistent with any messaging from the NYSDOH about equity and justice in healthcare for historically underserved black and brown communities, and we will not allow this to go forward,” she added.
Two other cost-cutting proposals from the firm would also drastically reduce capacity and services at St. John’s Episcopal — the only hospital left in the Rockaways following the permanent closure of Peninsula Hospital in 2012.
One plan would reduce the number of beds at St. John’s from 257 to 91 while eliminating obstetrics, newborn and pediatric services, according to information shared with the Eagle. Another would turn St. John’s into a 30-bed “health plex” focused on behavioral health with 337 staff members, down from a current total of 1,126, according to state employment numbers.
The union that represents hospital employees skewered the proposals in a statement Wednesday.
"This proposal must be immediately withdrawn and the State Department of Health must meaningfully engage with stakeholders to create a path forward,” said Veronica Turner-Biggs, a vice president for 1199 SEIU.
Maya Wiley, a mayoral candidate backed by 1199 SEIU, also took aim at the proposals in a joint statement with Assemblymember Khaleel Anderson, whose district includes the hospital.
“It is unconscionable that a consulting firm working with the New York State Department of Health has proposed cutting capacity St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway, one of the hardest-hit zip codes for COVID-19,” they said.
Comptroller Scott Stringer, another mayoral candidate, called the plans “immoral and dangerous” in a tweet Tuesday.
St. John’s Episcopal treated the first COVID-19 patient in Queens in early March 2020. In the ensuing weeks, hundreds of sick and dying patients filled the emergency room and inpatient units at the medical center and strained hospital resources to their limit.
St. John’s Board Chair Rev. Lawrence Provenzano urged the state to consider the crucial role the hospital plays in the community, particularly during the ongoing pandemic.
“The state should reconsider any reduction in services and staff plans which would further devastate this already healthcare underserved community. Don’t set the Rockaways back another 20 years.” Provenzano said.
“Just to make those three proposals is an insult to this community,” he added.
In a statement to the Eagle Wednesday, ToneyKorf Partners Senior Managing Director Steven Korf said they began work with St. John’s Episcopal in 2019 and helped the hospital identify $24 million in savings.
In the fall of 2020, the state ordered St. John’s to come up with a 20 percent budget reduction. Korf said his firm was once again tapped to “prepare an analysis of several alternate operating scenarios to prevent the increase in state funding needs.”
“The analysis outlined the related risks and consequences for each alternative,” Korf said. “The analysis did not include recommendations.”
Health Department spokesperson Erin Silk said the state contributes about $60 million per year to St. John’s Episcopal and has been working with hospital management for several years to improve community health while trimming costs. The proposals from ToneyKorf are non-binding, Silk said.
"The Department of Health has been working with the management of St. John's Episcopal for several years in an effort to achieve improved health outcomes and access in the Far Rockaways. In 2019, St. John's Episcopal entered into an agreement with Mount Sinai South Nassau to jointly explore how they could achieve this objective. As part of that process, Mount Sinai selected and hired a healthcare advisory firm called TonyKorf Partners to help develop strategic options. The Department has not required SJE to implement any of these models, and the Board of SJE would have to grant approval to do so,” Silk said.
”The Department looks forward to working with the leadership of St. John's Episcopal, together with the workers, elected officials and other stakeholders, in reviewing these options, among others, to find a solution that will work for all parties. In the meantime, the State is continuing to provide substantial operating support to St. John's Episcopal,” she added.
