Sent to me----Dear All :
Here are some updates about hospital capacity, along with an invitation to attend a protest from our friend, Donny Moss.
Ferry Crash
Earlier this morning, a ferry crashed at Pier 11, and many of the injured passengers had to be transported from the Battery all the way up to Columbia Presbyterian or to hospitals in Brooklyn, because hospitals in Lower Manhattan do not have enough capacity to absorb patients from a mass accident or disaster. Remember, since St. Vincent's Hospital was closed so that it could become luxury condos for Rudin Management Company and since Hurricane Sandy damaged Bellevue Hospital, there is no longer a Level I Trauma Center below Central Park in Manhattan.
Please read this comment posted on the new article published by WNYC :
Fifty people injured, more than one critically, and patients are lined up on the cold pier. Some had to be taken as far away as Columbia Presbyterian on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, quite a distance to travel in critical condition. Imagine the suffering that would not have been necessary if Saint Vincent's Hospital Medical Center at 12th St. and 7th Avenue had remained to take care of patients, as it did so well for over 100 years. The distance to care is life threatening for all who live and work in Manhattan since the closure of St. Vincent's, for this we have Governor Cuomo, Commissioner Shah and above all, wealthy corruption of Mayor Bloomberg's real estate friends. Today, our hospital is destroyed and replaced shortly by multi-million dollar coops. Coops dont provide medical care but human life is of little value to those who prefer real estate dollars over community needs. And a loud Thank You shout out to Speaker Quinn, who did nothing but promote the closure of St. Vincent's to help her friends, the Rudin real estate group. -- Barbara385 from Greenwich Village -- Jan. 09 2013 12:10 PM
Read more :http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2013/jan/09/17-injured-lower-manhattan-ferry-crash/
Action Alert
Donny Moss is organizing a general protest against Speaker Christine Quinn. This is a general-themed protest, but if you would like to help pass out flyers, hold up signs, or speak to voters about the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital, please join us :
Date : Tuesday, January 15, 2013Time : 8:00 - 9:00 a.m.Place : New School, 65 West 11th Street(between 5th and 6th)
On a related note, DNAinfo published an article earlier today that was critical of Speaker Quinn. It shows us that if we keep up our campaign for a replacement hospital, we can make the closing of St. Vincent's into a campaign issue. Read more about the electoral pressure on Speaker Quinn : http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130109/new-york-city/christine-quinn-foes-prepare-campaign-spoil-her-mayoral-hopes
Flu Outbreak in Boston
With flu cases in Boston up tenfold from last year, the mayor declared a public health emergency on Wednesday as authorities around the United States scrambled to cope with a rising number of patients.
Health authorities say a virulent strain this year has caused the number of flu cases to surge earlier than usual. Hospitals around the country have scrambled to find additional space to treat the ill, and some have had to turn people away. ...
In Illinois last week, large numbers of sick people overwhelmed some hospitals, and 24 facilities had to turn away some sick people, more than triple the seven hospitals that turned patients away in the same week last year.
"We've been told that a lot of it has been due to upper respiratory, influenza-type illnesses. Not 100 percent of it. But there are indications that a lot of it is flu-related," said Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Lehigh Valley Hospital, outside Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday set up a large tent outside its emergency room, which it is using to see patients who arrive with less-severe flu cases, said hospital spokesman Brian Downs. ...
Thank you for all that you do.
