The New York State Department of Health has given administrators permission to close Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital. Two large hospitals have already closed in the area over the last 20 years, Cabrini in the Gramercy Park area and St. Vincent’s in Greenwich Village, according to the New York Times. Beth Israel was founded in 1889 to serve mostly Jewish immigrants on the Lower East Side. Beth Israel will be required to fund the expansion of the emergency room at the public hospital, Bellevue, and also operate an urgent care center at Beth Israel for three months. Beth Israel treats about 50,000 patients per year. Its story is unfortunately common fare in today’s collapsing United States, where even the most essential life-saving facilities are being shuttered.
A judge has ordered the hospital to remain open until several lawsuits are settled. These lawsuits were mostly filed by local community activists who are still fighting to keep the hospital open. Administrators have been trying to close the hospital since at least 2016, and many demoralized doctors and nurses have already left looking for more reliable employment at other facilities.
