Ellis Makes Cuts to Surgical Services That Threaten Maternal Healthcare
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, Aug. 22, 2025
Contact: Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169
Joseph Celestin | press@nysna.org | 518-776-8337
ELLIS MAKES CUTS TO SURGICAL SERVICES THAT THREATEN MATERNAL HEALTHCARE
Despite Vocal Community Opposition, Ellis Medicine Moves Forward with Plans to Close Units and Most Surgical Services at Bellevue Woman’s Center
NYSNA Nurses Are Concerned About St. Peter’s Health Partners’ Impact on Maternal Health in the Region
Schenectady, N.Y. – On Friday, Aug. 22, Ellis Medicine closed units and most surgical services at Bellevue Woman’s Center, despite vocal opposition from nurses and community allies. Although initially announcing that closures to surgical services in the operating room and outpatient settings, except for c-sections, would occur at the end of this year, Ellis closed services months in advance, potentially putting women’s healthcare in Schenectady County and the greater capital region at risk.
Last week, nurses and allies held a town hall to discuss the impact this would have on the future of women’s health in the region. Although patients will still be able to receive c-sections at Bellevue, patients requiring any other surgical services will likely have to travel by ambulance to Ellis to receive services that should be performed at Bellevue. This could potentially lead to increased wait times, and potentially separate mothers from babies at a vulnerable time post-birth. This could also add strain to already overburdened staff and ambulances at Ellis, potentially leading to longer wait times at the main campus. According to Ellis, Bellevue is the region’s only in-patient facility exclusively dedicated to women’s health.
As patient advocates, nurses have expressed concern about the impact of these cuts both to existing services in the region and women’s health more generally. Over the last decade, Trinity Health—an out-of-state healthcare corporation—has acquired all hospitals under St. Peter’s Health Partners and has tried to consolidate healthcare providers and institutions within that regional system. Patient advocates have warned that Trinity Health has a history of attacking women’s health services in the capital region, as evidenced by its unsuccessful attempt to close Burdett Birth Center at Samaritan. Amidst a maternal-child mortality epidemic, nurses decry the potential impact Trinity/St. Peters’ growth will have on existing maternal and child healthcare.
Ellis entered a management services agreement with Trinity/St. Peters in 2021. Although Ellis management has said that their agreement would result in efficiency, the collaboration has resulted in the proposed closure of essential services and the denial of reproductive care.
Dawn Zipp, RN, said, “As a nurse at Bellevue, I see what having specialized services offers the community. People come here because they know they will receive the best care possible. We saw what they tried to do with Burdett, and I was vocal in that fight as well. As a community, we need to continue to take action because maternal healthcare and the future of women’s healthcare in this region is far too important to be silent bystanders.”
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said, “Ellis’s decision to close these services is an issue that goes well beyond Bellevue’s surgical services and the Schenectady region, and women’s health advocates across the state should be concerned. We have seen what St. Peter’s Health has attempted to do in the region, and if we don’t continue to raise our voices, these attacks on women’s health will continue.”
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The New York State Nurses Association represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.