Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, center, and area residents at a rally last year, when individuals called for additional funding for St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Rockaway. Photo courtesy NYS Assembly
Two Queens lawmakers are sponsoring legislation to secure $4.3 million for Far Rockaway’s St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, which has been precariously perched on financially shaky ground following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy and the closure of Peninsula Hospital.
Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Park) and state Sen. James Sanders (D-Laurelton) announced Tuesday that they are pushing Gov. Cuomo to use a portion of the $1.2 billion in state capital funding that is slated to to assist hospitals across New York for the peninsula’s only hospital.
The $4.3 million for which the two politicians are asking would help to cover the costs of expenses incurred during Superstorm Sandy.
“St. John’s Episcopal is the only healthcare facility available to serve nearly 100,000 families on the Rockaway peninsula,” Goldfeder said of the 257-bed hospital. “We must continue to fight for our most vulnerable communities and ensure they have access to urgent and quality healthcare services without leaving their backyard.”
Following Superstorm Sandy, the legislators stressed that St. John’s played a crucial role in serving a community suddenly faced with widespread disaster. Goldfeder said the millions in funding he is hoping Cuomo sends the way of St. John’s would help to reimburse the facility for the costs of services that were provided to the community during and after Sandy.
“St. John’s Episcopal Hospital is very grateful for the long-term support of Assemblyman Goldfeder and Senator Sanders and their efforts to restore the millions of dollars expended during Superstorm Sandy,” said St. John’s Episcopal CEO Richard Brown. “During that difficult time, the only issue was caring for the many sick, elderly and homeless community members who entered our doors seeking shelter and medical assistance – and not the cost or how it would be recouped.”
Once Rockaway’s Peninsula Hospital closed in 2012, St. John’s Episcopal was left as the sole remaining hospital in the area. Civic leaders, legislators, and residents have said the financial issues facing St. John’s are part of a worrisome trend in a borough – and city – where a number of hospitals have closed in recent years. Besides Peninsula Hospital, four other major health care institutions have been shuttered since 2008, including St. John’s in Elmhurst, Mary Immaculate in Jamaica, and Parkway in Forest Hills.
By Anna Gustafson
