REPORT: July/August 2006

Plans underway to sell Mary Immaculate and Saint Vincent’s Staten Island

by Rolando Tomas Infante

As this issue of Report went to press, a U.S. bankruptcy court judge had cleared the way for the Saint Vincents Catholic Medical Center (SVCMC) network to sell Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica and St. Vincent’s Hospital on Staten Island.

Administrators from the two potential buyers – Wyckoff Heights Medical Center and Bayonne Medical Center, respectively – told NYSNA representatives that they intend to maintain the hospital’s vital services to the community and would invest in the facilities. In addition, each said they would honor the RNs’ current NYSNA contracts.

As a result, NYSNA has expressed its support for the purchases. NYSNA represents 277 RNs at Mary Immaculate and 500 RNs at St. Vincent’s Staten Island.

The federal bankruptcy court judge’s approval clears the way for Bayonne and Wyckoff to submit plans to the New York State Health Department, which must also approve the purchases. It is estimated that approval from the state and other relevant parties will take several months.

Bayonne was the sole bidder for St. Vincent’s Hospital, avoiding an auction that had been scheduled for July 10. An agreement was reached in late July to resolve issues concerning the ownership of the Staten Island Heart Institute, which had been jointly owned by SVCMC and Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH). The agreement will permit Bayonne to assume SVCMC’s ownership rights.

NYSNA has participated in the “Save Our Safety Net” campaign to reach out to community residents, labor organizations, and elected officials to ensure the viability of the hospitals.