A devastated skeleton crew kept vigil Saturday at an all but empty St. John’s Hospital in Queens, counting down the hours until midnight when the facility would officially stop taking in patients.
No last-minute savior emerged to rescue the cash strapped hospital or its sister facility, Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, from a fatal bankruptcy.
“I want to chain myself to the chair,” said a teary eyed Laura Beidell, who has worked at St. John’s since 1977. “Not only do we work here, but we’ve all brought our families here. We’ve had parents who died here. This place is very special to us.”
A doctor and about half a dozen nurses, including Beidell, were on hand Saturday to treat any patients who came in to the Elmhurst hospital. Though they were prepared to treat anyone who needed help, the few patients who trickled in were told about the closure and directed to other facilities.
“Someone needs to investigate why this is happening,” Beidell said. “We have always been packed with patients who have insurance. How is it we were unable to stay viable? Its all politics and its very shady.”
The state has given more than $55 million in loans to help Caritas, the parent corporation of the two hospitals, stay afloat but it wasn’t enough. Caritas filed for bankruptcy Feb. 6.
Staff were shocked the closure actually happened, adding that less than a month ago the hospital was at capacity.
EMT Brigitte Smalley said patients have to wait too long for beds under normal circumstances, and was grim about what could happen with two less hospitals in the borough.
“There are no beds. These closings are going to shorten life spans,” she said.
Nurse Eddie Drinnkman said the closures will turn a health care crisis “into a health care disaster.”
“Governor Patterson is going to try to save money by killing the residents of Queens,” he said.