Two Giant NYC Hospital Systems To Merge

As one alluded to during the Saint Vincent's crisis and often since, the era of stand alone/private hospitals is almost dead in NYC, and this merger will leave what? Only Beekman Downtown in Manhattan and Mount Sinai as the only private systems left in Manhattan if not The City, am not sure so would have to look it up.

Just recently Richmond Universtiy Medical Center (formerly Saint Vincent's of Staten Island), formed a relationship with Mount Sinai, and the reason given was it probably couldn't survive going it alone.

As for the proposed Continuum/NYU merger again saw this one coming once St. Vinny's in the Village shut down. Both systems have a major presence in lower Manhattan/East Village and now that St. V's is gone (replaced by a Urgent Care center run by NS-LIJ), there is a push to snap up patients in a local heathcare market that runs the Westside from about 34th street down to the Financial District (as Wall Street area is now called). The latter in the years since 9/11/01 has grown more and more residential but there is a serious lack of services.

The last big merger was NYP/Columbia which almost fell apart over bruised egos and such as two different systems tried to blend with each other. What is certain nothing will happen until all major parties involved have had their taste. Physicans, unions, state and local elected officals, and others all will want to make sure they and or their own are "happy" before signing off on the deal.

One small but interesting thing will be to see if Beth Israel keeps it's nursing school. When Downstate took over the troubled Long Island College Hospital everyone was told they had nothing to worry about regarding that program. Not long after the ink was dry on the deal the school was shut and nothing has been heard about reopening since. NYU's nursing school is part of the separate university so there's no direct conflict on that end.

*Update*

Looks like the proposed merger is off for now. Continuum Partners has been approached by Mount Sinai hosptial system for a possible merger leaving NYU has been sidelined.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/ny...-steps-in.html

Yeppers: New York Hospital | Downtown hospital in NYC

Now that Saint Vinny's is gone Beekman is the only hospital for lower Manhattan/Financial District. Cannot see that lasting long as the area is fast becoming a huge residential district. Battery Park City alone is huge.

What one meant was that sooner or later another hospital or similar facility will have to be built to serve the rapdily growing residential population downtown.

Suppose the new urgent care center planned for part of the former St. Vinny's campus by NS-LIJ *may* suit, but will have to wait and see what the place offers after it's up and running.

Probaly not within our lifetimes or shouldn't bet upon it say within the next fifteen years or so.

Now that Obamacare is the law of the land it will take awhile for things to settle down. No one is going to build a new hospital in that part of Manhattan until they are sure there is a need and it will be financially viable.

IIRC both Beth Israel, NYU and Beekman have been busy expanding beds and facilities to take up the slack from the loss of St. Vinny's. Again once the urgent care center is open that should in theory take care of emergency patients until they are able to be transferred across down.

Was just down that way last night and it breaks your heart to see the old St. Vinny's. It's being torn apart bit by bit by construction for the new upscale housing. Tragic.

On another note read recently that upscale condos finally are done for the former St. Vinny's Mid-Town (the former St. Clare's Hospital) campus.