St. Vincent's pulse is slowing

St. Vincent's Hospital, already on life support, is closer to flat-lining every day.

Despite receiving $8 million in loans from New York state and its creditors, the hospital has run out of cash after using those funds to make its payroll.

The hospital, which is $700 million in debt, held an emergency meeting last Friday with local and state officials to discuss its future. Sources told The New York Times that St. Vincent's and its affiliates have drafted a contingency plan to close if they do not receive another bailout.

As part of this plan, the hospital has stopped admitting new patients to its HIV program — the largest program of its kind in the U.S. — and has told the New York City Fire Department to begin rerouting ambulances to other area hospitals.

On Friday, Governor David Paterson's office reported that it would continue to do everything in its power to help the hospital but would need assistance from the federal government.

Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have also reached out to the government to help keep the hospital open. Last week, the two senators, along with Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, sent a letter to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, urging the federal government to intervene and help the ailing hospital.

The letter stressed the importance of keeping St. Vincent's open for the thousands of patients it treats and the nearly 3,500 hospital employees.

Representatives from the department have spoken about sending aid to the struggling hospital. Specifically, they have looked into using the Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance program, which provides insurance to health care facilities.

The imminent closure of St. Vincent's means that Beth Israel and St. Luke's Roosevelt hospitals, and the NYU Langone Medical Center, will see an increase in patient load.

But Langone believes it is ready.

"We are prepared to handle any increase in patient volume that may result if St. Vincent's does close," NYU Langone spokeswoman Lisa Greiner said.