Mount Sinai sent the state Health Department a new plan last week for the closure of Beth Israel Hospital in downtown Manhattan — and, this time, hospital executives are promising new investments to soften the blow. The health system’s CEO, Brendan Carr, promised lawmakers earlier this month that Mount Sinai will open an urgent care center on the campus of the neighboring New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, which is also run by Mount Sinai and was targeted for closure in 2022. The new facility would be open seven days a week and offer more services than a typical urgent care center, such as x-rays, ultrasounds and CT scans. “While preserving the existing facility or building a new hospital are unfortunately not feasible, Mount Sinai would like to commit to opening a new urgent care center on the NYEE campus upon the closure of the 16th Street campus,” Carr wrote in the May 17 letter, which was uploaded as an exhibit to a pending lawsuit over the closure. “In looking at the current patients using the 16th Street emergency department, I believe that this expanded urgent care will address many of the concerns and needs of current patients,” Carr added. Mount Sinai is also now pledging to provide an unspecified amount of funding to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue nearby in Kips Bay after Beth Israel’s closure. The funds would help the city-run hospital renovate its emergency department, buy another CT scanner and bolster respite services. Health + Hospitals CEO Mitch Katz previously said Bellevue may need to expand its capacity if and when Beth Israel closes. The ball is now in the Health Department’s court, and Mount Sinai executives hope it won’t be for long: They are pressing for a 30-day turnaround to review and approve the updated closure application. Indeed Mount Sinai is still planning for a July 12 closure, citing “insurmountable” financial losses and the resignation of hundreds of staff since January. An independent auditor ruled that “substantial doubt exists” about the hospital’s ability to continue operating as a “going concern,” meaning Beth Israel will likely be unable to meet its obligations in the next 12 months. IN OTHER NEWS: — The state-run medical indemnity fund is getting a $58 million lifeline from the Hochul administration so it can reopen enrollment, which was abruptly suspended earlier this month to account for mounting expenses. Under state law, the medical indemnity fund must stop enrolling new individuals if its estimated liabilities amount to 80 percent or more of the fund’s assets.
The fund, which was established in 2011 under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, helps pay for the lifelong health care costs of more than 1,000 people who were permanently impaired during childbirth due to medical malpractice.
ON THE AGENDA: — Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The New York State Trauma Advisory Committee will meet in person in Troy. — Thursday at 3 p.m. NYC Health + Hospitals’ board of directors hosts its monthly public meeting. GOT TIPS? Send story ideas and feedback to Maya Kaufman at mkaufman@politico.com. Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
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