It was announced yesterday that the board of St Vincent's in Greenwich Village has voted to close in-patient services next week. After trying to find a buyer or partner for months, they've run out of options. St Vincent's Catholic Medical Centre opened 160 years ago, in 1849. Started by 4 nuns tasked by Elizabeth Seton, it had 30 beds at the time. St Vincent's grew rapidly to one of the largest charity hospitals in the US. The hospital has been on the front line of some of the most historic events in the nation:

 

1899 - Cholera pandemic of 1899

1911 - Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire

1912 - RMS Titanic

1981 - AIDS

2001 - September 11

 

I did some of my nurse training there and was employed by St Vincent's more recently. It's a real shame. As one friend and former employee put it, why couldn't the pope have sold a painting or two? I guess charity is no longer one of the Catholic Church's main missions, but covering up abuse allegations is. That's probably not fair however, the loss of a facility like this to a city such as New York is devastating and whose effects are only beginning to be seen. I hope those responsible for running the hospital into the ground can sleep at night. Those of us tasked with providing care to the people they're abandoning, however, cannot.

 

 

 

I've been sitting on this for several days and it's been much longer since I blogged at all. I didn't want to jinx it given how long my last permanent position lasted. However, since I've now been employed longer than 6 days, I think I can safely mention it. ;) I have been hired as a screening and triage nurse by New York's largest GLBT-focused community health centre. It's about as far from intensive care as one can get, and I love that about it. The population of patients I see is about the most diverse I've ever come across, and their problems run the gamut from STIs to HIV/AIDS to psych and everything in between. Geriatrics. Young adults. New parents. It's all pretty damn interesting. The clinic treats *everyone* regardless of ability to pay, which is part of its mission. It's also 60% self-funded which is a nice bonus. To top it all off, I've never met a nicer group of people to work with. It's almost scary. Not a single grumpy 25-year nurse bitching about their latest protest of assignment. Refreshing!

 

So, yes it's still early, but so far the organization is amazing and could really serve as a model for health care in a single-payer (or no-payer) era. I'm really fortunate to have been hired there, especially in light of the job market for nurses in NYC. It's a shame every city doesn't have a clinic like this...