James Foy, President & CEO of Riverside Health Care (which oversees the Community Hospital at Dobbs Ferry) will be my guest on my WVOX AM Radio program (1460AM) this Monday, December 4th at 11 AM to noon. A committee established by NY State has recommended the closure of this hospital. Listeners can call in live at 636-0110 to chat with
I have introduced a resolution before the Greenburgh Town Board urging the state to save the hospital --which has served Greenburgh residents and residents of the river villages for over 100 years. The hospital is a short term non profit health care facility that has 50 beds -- the average length of stay is seven days or less. It provides general acute in patient, out patient and emergency medical and surgical care to patients. The Town Board meeting will take place at Greenburgh Town Hall at 7:15 PM on Monday night, December 4th. This hospital is a very special place. Many people appreciate the personalized care given to everyone who goes to the hospital.
If you are interested in joining the citizens campaign to save the hospital please e mail me at pfeiner@greenburghny.com
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17 comments:
This will not be any easy fight. Hospitals like DF may have the option to file for bankruptcy to get federal court protection against state regulators. This however might jeopardize any assistance funds the state is promising for closed facilites. Now we read Spitzer and Pataki agree with the commission that DF should close. Gee thanks Andrea Stewart Cousins.
Andrea Stewart Cousins had nothing to do with this. This is a state decision. She does not take office in this session.
It would be sensible to have someone from the state commission (or someone representing that perspective) on the show for the sake of balance.
We want the hospital to stay in business. This hospital is responsible for saving lives.
"We want the hospital to stay in business. This hospital is responsible for saving lives."
Be forewarned that an emotional response such as this will definitely not be of any assistance. In fact, it may only serve to re-solidify the decision. To reverse the commissions's decision (unlikely), data is needed, and not of the qualitative type.
The Community Hospital at Dobbs Ferry is a life saver. Need we say more?
stewart cousins ran with spitzer - she is the state senator elect - so far we have heard nothing from her on the proposed closing of DF hospital. nick spano was right.
I have been advised that Andrea Stewart Cousins is testifying in favor of the Community Hospital at Dobbs Ferry. She is a big supporter of the hospital.
yea, she's the senator-ELECT ... shes not involved with this at all
"The Community Hospital at Dobbs Ferry is a life saver. Need we say more?"
Yea, a whole lot more. Statements like that will get you laughed at without hard data to support your opinion. If you want the hospital to stay open, get rid of the emotional plea angle and work on crunching the numbers.
The next time anonymous gets sick check the emergency room waiting time at Dobbs Ferry and compare it to any other hospital. This hospital is unique. A tremendous benefit for our community.
"This hospital is unique. A tremendous benefit for our community."
Again, such perspectives are completely meaningless in this situation without specific data. Mere emotional outcries will be ignored.
Hopefully different perspectives be presented and that it won't just a one-sided emotional plea?
"Mere emotional outcries will be ignored." Really? Is that how politics works? Why do you think none of New York's Health and Hospitals facilities were included in the report: because the politicians are a little worried about "mere emotional outcries" which usually come with signs, bullhorns and marches. Keep the issue in front of the politicians: email and write those emotional outcries to all of them. We're not all going to be crunching numbers: there are people doing that. If you would like to see some of the numbers there is a page of statistics here: http://www.hastingsdemocrats.org/Issues-CommunityHospita.htm
The articles in the Times this week have made it clear that the savings projected here are negligible: if demand stays the same and supply decreases, costs go up. It costs more for a night at CHDF than one at Columbia or Montefiore. Waiting times at CHDF's ER: about 30 min, everywhere else in Westchester up to 3 hours. Bring on the "mere emotional outcries": the quantitative analysis is there. Any questions, please email me.
David S. Goldfarb, M.D.
Member, Board of Trustees,
CHDF
Professor of Medicine,
NYU School of Medicine
dsgold@verizon.net
"Mere emotional outcries will be ignored." Really? Is that how politics works? Why do you think none of New York's Health and Hospitals facilities were included in the report: because the politicians are a little worried about "mere emotional outcries" which usually come with signs, bullhorns and marches. Keep the issue in front of the politicians: email and write those emotional outcries to all of them. We're not all going to be crunching numbers: there are people doing that. If you would like to see some of the numbers there is a page of statistics here: http://www.hastingsdemocrats.org/Issues-CommunityHospita.htm
The articles in the Times this week have made it clear that the savings projected here are negligible: if demand stays the same and supply decreases, costs go up. It costs more for a night at CHDF than one at Columbia or Montefiore. Waiting times at CHDF's ER: about 30 min, everywhere else in Westchester up to 3 hours. Bring on the "mere emotional outcries": the quantitative analysis is there. Any questions, please email me.
David S. Goldfarb, M.D.
Member, Board of Trustees,
CHDF
Professor of Medicine,
NYU School of Medicine
dsgold@verizon.net
"email and write those emotional outcries to all of them"
seems like a childish, unprofessional approach to the matter
The Supervisor sent a town e-mail with intelligent statistics that could be very convincing. With this data, the state committee will now have to defend their perspectives to us regarding closing the hospital, rather than the other way around. This is precisely the data that I was discussing in an earlier posting.
Here's the section of the Supervisor's e-mail for those of you who didn't receive it:
"The Greenburgh Town Board unanimously approved a resolution at the December 4th Town Board meeting urging the state to save the Community Hospital at Dobbs Ferry. This hospital should not be closed. The hospital is profitable –in 2006 the hospital projects a profit of $625,000. From an operating margin perspective CHDF is the most profitable entity in the entire Hudson Valley region. The hospital is the lowest cost facility in its region. The average length of stay for patients in NY is 6.1 days versus a national ALOS of 4.8. The average length of stay at Dobbs Ferry is 4.4 days. The hospital is also the fastest growing facility in the region –discharges have grown by 20% over four years. Referred ambulatory procedures have grown by 24.4% Ambulatory surgery volume has grown by 8% over 4 years. Emergency room volume has grown by 17% over 4 years.
"The drive time from the river villages to Phelps, White Plains, the Westchester Medical Center & St. John’s Riverside Hospital is between 15-30 minutes. However, during busy times of the day the drive time more than doubles. A patient in cardiac arrest must reach the hospital within 8 minutes. The closest Emergency Rooms in other hospitals have waits of more than 3 hours or more. If the state closes the Community Hospital at Dobbs Ferry the 900 visits a month will have to be redistributed to nearby emergency rooms in other hospitals which are already overcrowded with extremely long waits causing further waiting times.
"Advocates for the hospital recommend that supporters of the hospital write to Governor Pataki, Governor-elect Spitzer and other lawmakers urging them to support the hospital. If you are interested in being kept informed of the lobbying efforts to save the hospital please e mail me at pfeiner@greenburghny.com. The possible closure of the hospital is the biggest possible crisis facing our community at the present time. We must all work overtime to save this great asset."
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