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“In this hospital, it doesn’t matter if you have insurance, if you have papers—they treat you as a human being first,” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said of Elmhurst Hospital.
By Forum Staff
Borough pols and City Health officials on Friday gathered at Elmhurst Hospital to advocate for the much-needed renovation of City Health + Hospitals Elmhurst Obstetrical Inpatient facilities, in order to provide a more modern, safe, and equitable maternal health care experience to surrounding working class and immigrant communities.
Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens and Bronx) and Grace Meng (D-Flushing) recently submitted a joint community funding request for $3,000,000 for FY 2022 to House Appropriators. If the funding request is fulfilled, Elmhurst Hospital would be able to provide a more modern, safe, and comfortable family-centered environment that also meets current privacy standards. When giving birth, privacy leads to a quieter environment which promotes recovery, provides for better infection control, and is better for bonding between parents and their babies. Healthy breastfeeding is also fostered in single rooms.
“It is imperative to provide equitable maternal care to the working class and immigrant communities surrounding Elmhurst Hospital,” they wrote.
After a decade-long ban, appropriators have welcomed back requests for direct congressional funding, also known as “earmarks,” with new rules in place to ensure strict transparency and accountability. The funding requests, reviewed by House and Senate appropriators, serve as critical tools to target funding towards the urgent needs of constituents. The Senator will be submitting earmark requests shortly, and will also be prioritizing this request in order to combat maternal mortality in communities across New York.
“The pandemic made it painfully clear that the resources our hospitals get vary widely from community to community. Every New Yorker should be able to access the care they need in their own neighborhood,” said Senator Gillibrand. “That is why I am proud to join Representatives Ocasio-Cortez and Meng in requesting $3 million of funding to help this hospital combat another ongoing health crisis: maternal mortality. We must continue to make improving and creating equitable maternal care a priority.”
Gillibrand also recently announced the Modernizing Obstetric Medicine Standards (MOMS) Act and Maternal CARE Act to help address the disproportionate rate of maternal deaths among Black and brown women.
“Elmhurst Hospital was in the heart of the epicenter when the coronavirus pandemic hit New York in March of 2020,” Meng said. “Our local healthcare system was overwhelmed, and we cannot afford to let a situation like that happen again. We must make needed investments that our hospitals require, whether it involves deadly infectious illnesses or routine treatment, and the renovation of Elmhurst’s obstetrical facilities would be a major boost in expanding access to care and ensuring healthier families. We will do all we can to secure these funds.”
Ocasio-Cortez added, “Elmhurst led the way in this pandemic. They were an example for the rest of the country. And it was in no small part because this is a public hospital. In this hospital, it doesn’t matter if you have insurance, if you have papers—they treat you as a human being first. This $3 million investment will support a hospital that has already done so much for this community and for this country.”
