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Administration, Tokasz hopeful St. Joe’s can be saved in Albany
By John J. Hopkins Times
Although a commission’s recommendation to close St. Joseph Hospital will become law on December 31, officials remain hopeful that the Harlem Road facility will be spared when New York State’s new health commissioner follows through on the statewide report.
St. Joseph and Buffalo’s Millard Fillmore Hospital were both recommended for closure by the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century. Several other hospi- tals, many in the New York City area, were also recommended for closing.
The New York State Legislature failed to act on the report when it assembled last week in Albany, opening the door for it to become law.
In order to defeat the measure, both the Assembly and Senate were required to reject the report.
State Assembly Majority Leader Paul A. Tokasz said that there was enough support in the Assembly to overturn the report, but the Senate failed to even address the issue.
Although there wasn’t support from the Senate, Tokasz said that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and the chairman of the health committee will forward a joint letter to Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer outlining the Assembly’s concerns with the report and asking him to revisit the issue with his commissioner of health.
“I spoke to Governor-elect Spitzer last Thursday and told him about not only the specific concern about St. Joe’s, but the way that the process was flawed,” Tokasz said. “He gave me assurances that those issues will be revisited.”
Although the statute requires the commissioner of health to implement the recommendations, Tokasz said there is “substantially qualifying language” concerning funding and consultive issues that could allow changes to the report.
The commission has been criticized across New York State for its failure to solicit public input during its review.
Many have questioned the statistics used by the commission to back its recommendations. There have also been allegations of closed-door meetings.
The Catholic Health System has filed a lawsuit against the state to keep St. Joseph Hospital open. The health system expects its case to be heard in court in January.
“St. Joseph Hospital is open and will continue to serve its community,” said CHS President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph D. McDonald. “We will continue to advocate for the facility and its role in providing high quality care.”
St. Joseph Hospital President and CEO James Millard said that more than 45,000 signatures have been collected on petitions to keep the hospital open. An additional 5,000 persons have placed their names on a petition at the health system’s Web site.
“It’s nice to go through and read some of the things that people have posted out there,” said Millard. “It’s overwhelmingly positive.” The comments can be viewed at www.believecatholic.com.
The health system solicited signatures at Walden Galleria through December 17. Although they are no longer at the mall, additional signatures continue to pour in.
Tokasz said he plans to forward a letter and 20,000 signatures supporting St. Joseph Hospital to Spitzer’s office.
“I think it’s on not only (Spitzer’s) radar screen, but certainly the assembly’s radar screen not to accept the report and make some significant changes to it through a more public process,” Tokasz added.
Millard said that the hospital’s staff is “rallying behind the cause,” providing positive energy, despite the legislature’s inaction.
“The encouraging part is that we’re getting some rumblings that they’ll be willing to come to the table and have some discussions,” Millard said. “It’s not quite as black-andwhite as the report first indicated.”
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