Reduced emergency room hours at St. Luke's will cause hardship

Editor's note: New York State Assemblyman James Skoufis sent the following letter, dated Sept. 11, to Dr. Nirav R. Shah, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health.

Dear Commissioner Shah:
In a press release from St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital dated September 9, 2013, it was announced that a request has been made to the New York State Department of Health to reduce the hours of operation at the campus’ emergency room. I have deeply serious concerns about this request.

Numbers, as you well know, can be easily manipulated to fit a narrative. The aforementioned press release is filled with cherry-picked statistics that offer an incomplete view of the hospital’s performance. For instance, it is mentioned that only 600 patients received Emergency Department services at the Cornwall campus between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m.; two paragraphs later, the press release states that the Newburgh campus, by comparison, serves more than 60,000 patients per year.

What is not shared is how many patients receive care at the Newburgh campus between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. Further, many advanced-emergency and critical services are not offered at the Cornwall campus, thus already directing many patients to Newburgh. How can you compare the number of visits a) without looking at the same period during the day and b) when the two campuses offer different emergency room services? It unfortunately seems as though a fair comparison was never intended.

Last, but certainly not least, nowhere does it state how much money will be saved by this “creative initiative,” as they put it. I do not consider making an emergency room part-time a creative initiative, by any means, but just how much will be saved? Or is this request part of a larger move towards shutting down the Cornwall campus, as many local community members and officials fear (which, in discussions with the hospital, they refuse to rule out)? Have genuinely creative initiatives actually been looked at, such as transferring some of the services and burden from the Newburgh campus to Cornwall’s?

Residents in not only Cornwall, but also Blooming Grove, Highlands, New Windsor, Woodbury, and elsewhere, would face a considerably longer drive to an emergency room from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. under this proposal. Given the widespread, negative ramifications of St. Luke’s request, I urge you to please scrutinize this proposal closely and do everything possible to avert turning Cornwall into a part-time emergency room. Additionally, I would like to formally request a public hearing, to be held in Cornwall, on the request by the New York State Department of Health.

Thank you very much for your time, consideration, and important work for the communities I represent.

Sincerely,
James Skoufis
Member of Assembly