Broken promises: two words that sum up St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital’s intention to close the Cornwall emergency room.
There’s the broken promise that the community would finally get real input in the direction and vision of the Cornwall campus. That’s what was guaranteed subsequent to the hospital’s failed attempt to turn the Cornwall ER into a part-time operation three years ago. This time, just like last, residents and elected officials were only approached after a decision was already finalized.
Then, there’s the broken promise to the Stillman Family who, generations ago, selflessly donated a full-service hospital to the community. The Stillmans–and the community–were assured the former Cornwall Hospital would always be maintained; this promise is even memorialized in a 1923 agreement between Dr. Ernest Stillman and The Cornwall Hospital. Nonetheless, every single core service was cut one by one: the hallways where crying babies were once delivered are now silent, the inpatient beds that make up the heart of any hospital have all been decommissioned, and the operating room that saved lives has been shuttered. If executives get their way, the emergency room will soon be a memory. This is certainly not the hospital that the Stillman Family and the community were promised would forever be maintained; in fact, this is not a hospital at all anymore.
Executives are now declaring the community has nothing to worry about if the Cornwall emergency room closes. Yet, when asked how many lives will be lost as a result of their decision, the response is, and I quote, “we don’t have a crystal ball.” Longer drives, an already-overflowing Newburgh ER, nearly quadruple the turnaround time for ambulances. It appears the promise to “first, do no harm” only applies to executive salaries and bonuses.
There is no question St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital is under financial duress–it is why I and other elected officials worked with them to press the Department of Health to provide assistance. Our efforts were successful when, in June, the state awarded the hospital a substantial $14 million award. While fiscal sustainability is still a long ways away, it should not come on the backs of the Blooming Grove, Cornwall, Highlands, New Windsor, and Woodbury residents who rely on the Cornwall emergency room and have already lost so much from their once-thriving campus.
I honestly don’t know if the hospital’s plan can be thwarted like it was three years ago, but it’s a fight worth fighting. I'll continue doing everything possible to keep our ER doors open.
Thirteen years ago, St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital spent $4.2 million to expand and upgrade the Cornwall emergency room. Administrators were so proud of the result they referred to it as, “the emergency room of the future.” It’s not too late for hospital executives and trustees to finally live up to one of their promises.
James Skoufis represents the 99th Assembly District, which includes parts of Orange and Rockland counties.
