On July 22, Town Supervisor Richard Randazzo told Joan Cusack-McGuirk (the hospital’s interim CEO and president) that local officials should have been warned about the ER’s potential closing.
Hospital officials didn’t have to wait long to hear objections to their plans to close the Cornwall Emergency Room (ER).
The interim CEO and president, Joan Cusack-McGuirk, and the president of the Board of Trustees, Michelle Rider, hosted a meeting for elected officials at the Medical Arts Building in Cornwall on Friday morning.
The audience members complained about a lack of notification. And they repeated that message at the Monday night Town Hall meeting at Anthony’s Pier Nine.
Mayor Brendan Coyne referred to the last time the ED’s future was in doubt. “I don’t know that you’ve learned the lesson,” the mayor said. “I feel we’re being disrespected. If you were to engage us, we’d be happy to work with you.”
Cornwall Supervisor Richard Randazzo referred to communication on Friday and spoke of trust on Monday night. “You have just diminished the trust the community has in you,” he told Mrs. Cusack-McGuirk. “Look at the history of what took place here! Almost immediately [after the merger of the two hospitals], you began to dismantle Cornwall. You’ve made us second class citizens.”
County Legislator Chris Eachus reminded hospital officials that the county planned to utilize the Cornwall ER if there was an accident at Indian Point or a mass casualty. “You’re asking us to rewrite our emergency plans and get them approved in 66 days,” he said.
“Can you still call Cornwall a hospital?” County Legislator Kevin Hines asked. There are many departments in the building (some added in the last three years). But Mr. Hines maintained that if someone having a heart attack walked into the building they wouldn’t find anyone who could help them. “You have to take the hospital sign down,” he insisted.
Mr. Hines also questioned the capacity of the ER in Newburgh. There was an overflow last Thursday, for example, with six patients on gurneys in the hall. “They can’t handle what they have now,” Mr. Hines said.
The Cornwall ER has 31 employees. Dan Bengyak, the Human Resources VP, said some would move to the Newburgh ER, while others would be offered jobs elsewhere in the hospital.
Dan Maughan, VP of Transformation, said overflows occur infrequently in Newburgh, and the situation should improve as people rely more on urgent and primary care facilities.
Sen. Bill Larkin was the first to speak on Monday night. “I would do anything to help you,” he told the audience and the representatives of the hospital.
Assemblyman James Skoufis objected to the timing of the meeting. People had three days notice, he said, and the ad in last week’s paper invited them to a Town Hall session, without telling them what it was about.
Mrs. Cusack-McGuirk addressed that perception later in the evening. “We didn’t intend to surprise the community,” she said. “We brought this up as timely as we could have. Our intent was never to be less than transparent.”