Staff In Tears As St. John's Closes

Grief-stricken workers at St. John's Queens Hospital in Elmhurst bid an emotional farewell to the facility during a candlelight vigil marking it's official closure last Saturday night, Feb. 28. (photo courtesy of Meredith Balek, City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley's office) Emotions ran high during a candlelight vigil at St. John's Queens Hospital in Elmhurst last Saturday night, Feb. 28 as long-time nurses, EMTs and staff members marked the official closing of the medical center.

Tears were shed by employees and supporters as the clock struck midnight, the official time of death for the medical facility that had served the community for more than a century. Its demise coincided with that of its affiliate, Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, which like St. John's succumbed to millions of dollars in losses incurred by their parent company, Caritas Health Care.

Caritas had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Feb. 6 after being unable to secure additional fi- nancial support from the state or a private investor to keep itself in operation. With that filing, the company began the process of shutting both facilities down, sparking a litany of demonstrations and rallies held by employees, civic activists and elected officials calling for the closure to be stopped.

In the end, however, the protests did nothing to slow or stop the process, as hundreds of patients were transferred to other facilities and the 2,500 workers at both hospitals were laid off over the last four weeks. Ambulances were diverted away from St. John's and Mary Immaculate's emergency rooms as of Feb. 14.

The closure leaves Queens County served by just nine hospitals in the borough, including Elmhurst Hospital Center, Forest Hills Hospital and Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. To accommodate the additional influx of patients, the state Department of Health provided grants to the operators of each facility and several others around the borough to expand their staff and emergency rooms.

The loss of St. John's and Mary Immaculate hospitals jeopardizes the quality of life of all Queens residents, according to employees and elected officials who reacted to the shutdown. Others also expressed anger with Gov. David Paterson and the state DOH for allegedly failing to provide loans to keep both medical centers running.

As reported, the DOH and the New York State Dormitory Authority had provided $50 million in loans to Caritas Health Care since the company was formed in 2007 to take control of St. John's and Mary Immaculate. In January, the company was lent $6 million just to meet its payroll.

"The consequences of its closure are devastating," said City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley, noting that "thousands of people are out of work during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression; local businesses will take a tremendous hit; and access to health care for Queen's residents has become an even greater challenge."

At Saturday's candlelight vigil and previous protests at St. John's, Crowley said, she joined employees in expressing fears about the potential for prolonged response times and overcrowded emergency rooms in other areas if the two hospitals closed.

"I heard their fears and I share their outrage that Governor Paterson and the Department of Health could not allocate the necessary funds to keep this hospital open," she added in a statement. "While I continue to support the staff and their families through city agencies, I will pressure Governor Paterson to find a solution that meets the needs of the people of Queens."

Also condemning the closure of the two facilities was City Comptroller William Thompson, who charged that the state DOH failed to put a plan in place to adequately address the healthcare needs of Queens patients.

"Without putting a plan in place, the state has left many unanswered questions about how Queens residents will be able to get their health care needs met," he said. "The New York City Fire Department, which oversees Emergency Medical Services, also has not addressed how the closures will impact the health and safety of area residents including transition plans for '911' emergency medical response and treatment services."

A nurse of 22 years at St. John's Hospital who was one of the 2,500 Caritas employees left out of work as a result of the facility's demise also expressed her outrage directly to the Times Newsweekly. See the My Say column on Page 4.

Rumors of a sale

Though St. John's closure was imminent, this paper learned last Friday, Feb. 27 of a rumor that the medical center was going to be purchased by North Shore/LIJ, which operates Forest Hills Hospital.

A spokesperson for North Shore/LIJ, Brian Mulligan, informed the Times Newsweekly on Tuesday, Mar. 3 that there was no truth to the rumor, adding that the health care provider was working to expand its facility to handle additional patients.

"We're investing $16 million to prepare for increased patient volume," he said, noting that the hospital anticipates caring for an additional 12,800 patients in its emergency room this year. North Shore/LIJ is also working to broaden its paramedic units to make up for the loss of EMTs previously employed by St. John's Hospital.

Inside the bankruptcy filing

Currently, Caritas Health Care is scheduled to return to U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Brooklyn for a hearing on Wednesday, Mar. 18 for a conference regarding the status of the outstanding case.

The Times Newsweekly obtained a copy of the bankruptcy filing submitted by Caritas which is available online through the website of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York, www.nyeb.uscourts. gov.

Formerly managed by St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, St. John's and Mary Immaculate hospitals were purchased by Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in a deal finalized on New Year's Day 2007. St. Vincent sold both hospitals after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2005 after incurring millions of dollars in debt.

Caritas Health Care and its parent company, Brooklyn Queens Health Care (BQHC), were formed through provisions in the purchase agreement. Caritas would oversee operations at St. John's and Mary Immaculate, while Wyckoff Heights Medical Center would operate under BQHC directly.

Though Caritas had incurred over $188 million in liabilities against more than $87 million in assets, the company was responsible to pay out over $7.5 million in salaries to its employees over the four-week closure period through Feb. 28. Three executives, according to court documents, were slated to make a combined salary of $118,306.

The hospital's chief executive officer, John Kastanis, was estimated to be paid $42,306 for the four-week period, while the chief restructuring officer, John Lavan, was to make $60,000 and Jerry Castoria, chief financial officer, was to make $16,000.

The New York State Dormitory Authority was listed as Caritas' largest creditor, with nearly $35 million in outstanding bills owed to the agency. The pension and benefit funds of SEIU 1199, which represents medical workers at St. John's and Mary Immaculate, were owed over $5.5 million in contributions.

The Healthcare Finance Group and HFG Healthco, which provided financing to Caritas for the purchase of the two hospitals, is owed $13.9 million in loans. St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers also provided a loan of $9.1 million to the health care company.

All assets belonging to Caritas— including both St. John's and Mary Immaculate hospitals and equipment within the facilities—must be sold through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. No date for the sale has been scheduled as of press time, according to a Caritas spokesperson.