For Immediate Release

Contact: Dan Lutz, 347.835.3429

Lawmakers, community leaders say ‘Save Mt. Vernon Hospital’

Hospital on brink of collapse, nurses warn

Images: ‘Save Mount Vernon Hospital,’ Aug. 20, 2012

Image: NYS Nurses Association Image: NYS Nurses Association Image: NYS Nurses Association Image: NYS Nurses Association Image: NYS Nurses Association
Image: NYS Nurses Association Image: NYS Nurses Association Image: NYS Nurses Association Image: NYS Nurses Association  

Above are a selection of images; click on the individual thumbnails for a larger image.

MT. VERNON, August 20, 2012 — Mt. Vernon lawmakers and community leaders – including Mayor Ernie Davis and New York Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson – turned out in force today to help save Mt. Vernon Hospital.

They were joined by a crowd of 50 nurses and other hospital workers. Nurses warn the hospital is on the brink of collapse.

Westchester County Legislator Lyndon Williams, Mt. Vernon City Council members Deborah Reynolds and Richard Thomas, City Comptroller Maureen Walker, and neighborhood leader Ronnie Cox all spoke to support the nurses who are fighting to keep the hospital open.

SEIU Local 1199 was there too. Local 1199 Vice President Maria Kercado spoke out against management’s recent layoff of over 80 workers at at Mt. Vernon Hospital and Sound Shore Medical Center.

New York Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson said that closing the hospital would be a disaster for the Mt. Vernon community. She said she has received excellent care as a patient at the hospital.

The hospital did get some good news over the weekend: a $3 million loan from the state, to help the hospital pay its bills. The hospital has also re-opened their dialysis center.

Mt. Vernon Mayor Ernie Davis told the crowd that he was meeting with CEO John Spicer later in the day. He called for cooperation between the state, city, and hospital management to keep serving the community.

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is New York’s largest professional association and union for registered nurses. The association represents registered nurses, and some all-professional bargaining units, in New York and New Jersey. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

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