Friday, January 23, 2009

St. John's, Mary Immaculate on path toward closure

From Crain's:

Caritas Healthcare Inc., a two-hospital system in Queens, is sending out notice to its 2,500 workers that it anticipates having to close.

The hospitals, Mary Immaculate and St. John’s, may still be saved, if politicians and state agencies can come up with enough cash to keep them afloat. Supporters hope that Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, a Queens Democrat, can arrange a last-minute bailout by convincing the governor to release funds.

But Caritas’ board of directors gave hospital executives the go-ahead on Wednesday to close, or file for bankruptcy, or both, if no last-minute bailout happens. St. John’s and Mary Immaculate provide health care services to about 200,000 Queens residents annually.


And from the Queens Chronicle:

A study by Marshall’s office in 2006 found that Queens is already lacking in services compared to other boroughs. Manhattan, with a population of 1.5 million, has 7.4 beds per 1,000 people. Queens, with a population of 2.3 million, has 1.4 beds per 1,000 people. That does not include the loss of the 250 beds following New Parkway Hospital’s closure in November.

Well, well, well. Looks like the Machine has its work cut out for it. Will they come through and save these 2 hospitals, or will Queens get left out in the cold yet again?

129 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bloombers fault for his "Sanctuary City" Policy.

The tweeds whose females remain in a perpetual state of pregnancy till there uterus's fall bled them dry
....And this wont be the last !!

Dont go to the Emergency Room if you filed income tax or own a car without medical insurance !

They wont you unless its life or death or you own a house

You do have 2 options:

1- Make beleive your a destitute homeless with no name (amnesia).
2- Leave the country, get a tan and come back as an illegel
The goverment forces hospitals to treat and give free Meds to those people at gunpoint

Anonymous said...

Joe is right.

Illegal aliens, no matter how well off they are financially, use hospital emergency rooms as the doctor's office.

Rather than pay for insurance, they will crowd the emergency room for any ordinary ailment, getting diagnosis plus prescriptions.

Commissar Death and taxes would rather that working, taxpaying citizens die of serious illness than to rid the city of his wealthy friends' servants.

Anonymous said...

I keep being told that our Mayor is the Einstein of Finance, the Mozart of Money and the Babe Ruth of Business. He is the best, yet under his talented eye we are crumbling in debt, closing firehouses and hospitals and cutting police recruits. My taxes are the highest ever and are rising, but my quality of life is declining. I have come to believe anyone could do a better job. He needs to return the dollar salary; he is not even worth that!

Anonymous said...

Sorry but good riddance to Mary Immaculate. It was nothing more than a dirty glorified doctor's office. Shit, the bathrooms at the Air Train station down the block were cleaner than the rooms at this hospital. My father in law was being "treated" for cancer in this hospital. He responded well to treatment at Jamaica hospital. Then his oncologist had him transferred to this shithole because that's where his affiliation was. It was one mistake after another, one infection after another... How can you forget to feed someone? How do you accidentally put a chest tube in the wrong place.... TWICE?

GOOD RIDDANCE!

Anonymous said...

How do you accidentally put a chest tube in the wrong place.... TWICE?

These Hospitals are so broke from the illegals they dont have doctors and real technitions.
They use interns and med students for stuff like that.

I know a nice old & cray Jewish lady in Great Neck.
Oh how this woman goes off on Israelis, Buks and Iranians over there by North Shore LIJ.

She so pissed not one of her sons can be doctors like her husband. Who paid millions in Tax working at North Shore LIJ over the years.

Now for the sons the med schools and internships are ALL set up with grants to grab overseas Pakis, Iranians, Indians willing to work 18 hour shifts in the ER for Med School points + min wage.

Med schools dont "teach" like in the old days, they are more of a head hunter service for slaves.

This is the way it was explained to me anyway.
Wen I get really old Id rater die on the spot of a heart attack.
The hospitals are just going to be slaughter houses and Hospaces

Anonymous said...

Mary Immaculate's ER saved my wife's life. The 'deceiders' on funding do not live in this neigbourhood, so bye bye healthcare and jobs.

Anonymous said...

The issue of MIH and St. John closing is not about the rising financial burden of providing free care........it is about a hospital and its Board of Directors' failure to have a vision of the future of healthcare in Queens, and the piss poor and costly administrative decisions that they have made over several years. The Board of Directors and Adminstration should be stripped of their health insurance to see what's it like to lose a basic human right.....i.e.,the right to quality healthcare in every community.

Anonymous said...

Its rather amusing that people refer to the "machine" and tie it to the democrats in NYC.There are no Democrats in this state period.Its just Republican light activities.Servicing the private sector and their pockets.
Only the east coast and a few other states in the U.S. are this grossly depraved in politics on a daily level.

Anonymous said...

you're right. The wyckoff dominated board of trustee trough both hospitals under the bus. And is n't it bizar that in the last year two state appointed Chief 'reconstruction' officers
did not structure the board of trustees, collected the almost 100 mio (!) outstanding, but created huge overhead; sold al lot of the assets (to a neighourhood guy, though)etc.
give me a break.

Anonymous said...

Everyone can point fingers in every direction they choose. With the exception of the very real problem of indigent care and the financial drain it puts on a hospital, I think the rest of the blame falls fair and square on the hospitals and the perceived quality (or lack thereof) of care that it renders. I am not alone in stating that if I needed care, I would take my chances and hop a cab (only a cell phone call away to 911 if I could not make it) to a prestigious Manhattan hospital where I know I would be receiving state of the art care. Outcome studies for emergencies support going to large teaching hospitals. I know this will anger some but I think there needs to be some ownership of the problem of why so many hospitals in Queens and some in Brooklyn are disappearing and being swallowed up by larger systems. It is more than financial. Unfortunately, while a large system can shore up the financial hemorrhage, the people rendering care in the acquired hospitals usually remain the same and the quality does not change.

Anonymous said...

I've met so many wonderful people at St.John's that it breaks my heart to know that they are now being layed off. St.John's saved my mother's life and countless times has been there for me. I know what its like to work there as I have volunteered in the ER and lab for years. The staff is doing all it's best despite having little resources and understaffed. I feel that one rally isn't enough. There needs to be more! It is my hope that Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand will reach out to us and help. Our community needs this hospital!! It doesnt matter where you people go for care, but it does matter that care be available to the people who go to St.John's.

Unknown said...

Maybe your lazy ambulance workers and head of ambulance operations were fired they would have survived. They are pathetic

Anonymous said...

mary inacurrate is the correct name. Goodbye Kate its about time

Anonymous said...

kate need a job?

Anonymous said...

Maybe you should have got rid of your ambulance manager sooner. Instead of her getting paid to cry and get her hair done. Compliments of her boss chris

Anonymous said...

Kate do you need tissues?

Anonymous said...

In Bloomberg country,
there's Lenox Hill, New York Hospital and many other numerous institutions where one might avail themselves of some quality health care.

In less fortunate neighborhoods
we have hospital closings.

Social engineering at the behest of King Michael R. Bloomberg the 1st!

Anonymous said...

All rudderless ships run aground eventually. It is the absence of accountable leadership at St. John's & MIH that has brought about it's fate. The real shame is while CM and AH have become enriched, hundreds have lost their jobs and now a community stands to lose it's hospital. Off with their heads!

Anonymous said...

Incredible!
Why has the incompetent management been allowed to stay at the helm for so long?
Chris Mastromano’s credentials are abysmal, he did not obtain a college degree until a year ago. For the past decade he emulated his hero Flounder, failing an online class, passing an online class, until he finally received a degree. It is unbelievable that someone can receive an MBA a month after they receive a Bachelors degree from another institution. I can only hope that his GPA was better than Flounder’s 0.0. But his management style and lack of leadership abilities it appears has emulated Flounder!

Mr. Mastromano has flown under the radar for many years and hopefully will be held accountable for his actions. This man fired a long time supervisor who reported corruption. This supervisor stood up to Chris and lost his job. This cost the hospital a long severance package to get the supervisor to waive his rights and not sue.

Its amazing how Chris gave himself and his cronies generous raises, while the hospital was laying off employees and sinking deeper into the red. During this time Kate Fucigna’s salary went from $68k to 94k today. Chris Mastromano went from 90k to 249k. His other favorites also were given healthy raises.

Corruption rules the day at Mary Immaculate Hospital and Chris’s name has always been associated with the corruption smoke, whether it be the sale of patient information, the theft of hospital equipment, theft of fuel, no show jobs. Kate works a phantom double shift on Mondays so she can have Friday off. On other days she just leaves work early pretending to be at some meeting or other location. Most importantly, she gets her hair and nails done every Wednesday, on company time.

Where is the Attorney General, this place and its management needs to be investigated!

Anonymous said...

MIH has become a dirty filthy hospital. Get rid of the current management and bring in proven leaders!

Anonymous said...

This is corruption at its best. Where is Andrew Cuomo???? We are talking about Medicaid money! 44 million dollars down the drain. The consulting firms should not have been allowed to suck us dry. I am hearing that they were charging MIH and STJ 800k per week. This is disgusting? It looks like the taxpayers were taken for a ride and the poor will be punished and suffer the long term affects, while the fat cat consultants and administration gets rich. This sounds like it might have been planned closures from the beginning. These facilities can make it if they had the proper leadership and were run correctly, not like a money machine for the well connected.

Anonymous said...

It's funny that some ignorant people feel immigrants, legal or illegal, are sucking the hospitals dry. I am a medical student at both MIH and SJQ and the majority of thepatients walking into the ER or being admitted are regular Americans, whether black or hispanic, asian or whatever, without insurance....simply because they are too lazy to apply for government aid or refuse to pay out of pocket. People that walk in homeless and drunk, and think the "system" owes them something. These are regular American's with the irregularity of laziness and an unbelievable sense of entitlement. These are the same people that have kids in gangs,on drugs, and wreaking havoc on society, but want the government or school to control their kids. People need a reality check. When a 22 year old girl, sorry to say black, mother of 3, comes in with preemature babies with a runny nose, in the middle of a terrible winter,and rather go out and smoke than stay with them, it kind of makes you sick. People using and sucking MIH and SJQ dry are people just like you Mr. It's-all-the-illegals-fault. For your info cancer is rarely cured. If you think it can be, you should try. As far as training students and residents....that happens at almost every hospital and clinic in the nation. The only difference is we admit to it while others lie about it. MIH and SJQ teach us our profession so that in 10 years when you have a heart attack and ready to sing your last song, SOMEONE will take pitt on you maybe try to save your life. If you know of a better way to train docs, you tell us how.

Please realize that MIH and SJQ are desperately needed in Queens. I'm not from this state, but I know how much medical attention is needed by people in QUeens and how much MIH and SJQ provide. Have a heart and try to keep these hospitals open by contacting government officials...even if you choose to go to a different hospital. There will be a rally this Saturday, January 31st, at 10AM in front of Mary Immaculate. Please show your support. Whether you like it or not we need these hospitals to remain open. If they close and you're one of the people with insurance in a fancy hospital...you can bet you'll get some new neighbors from queens in the beds next to you.

Anonymous said...

“They’re putting money before people,” said Ann Hughes, R.N., who has been with St. John’s for 19 years.

She said that certain floors of the facility will be closed by February 14, she was told, and that the entire hospital will be shuttered by the end of February.

But despite the dire prognosis, she said, “There are still a lot of dedicated people - we start a half-hour early and finish an hour late.”

Hughes attributes the financial troubles at St. John’s to the fact that the hospital treats a large number of undocumented - and uninsured - immigrants, as well as geriatric and tuberculosis patients.


HOSPITAL CRISIS

I'll trust a 19-year veteran nurse over the word of a punk ass med student any day. Natives in this city have never had a problem signing up for public assistance in every way, shape and form.

Anonymous said...

where is Cuomo. Investigate the stealing of gas, tools, parts at mih garage. What about a supervisor KATE that gets paid to not be there. Is it because of favors for Chris? Its about time. Its a shame for the dedicated EMT and paramedics who were walked over for so long. BYE BYE Kate.....

Anonymous said...

Where is cuomo?????

Anonymous said...

After years of abusing the ambulance staff at MIH with Mastromano's blessing, I have to say, Kate your getting what you deserve unemployment and time to get your hair done closer to home. Who cares where the bones are buried

Anonymous said...

"where is Cuomo. Investigate the stealing of gas, tools, parts at mih garage. What about a supervisor KATE that gets paid to not be there. Is it because of favors for Chris? Its about time. Its a shame for the dedicated EMT and paramedics who were walked over for so long. BYE BYE Kate....."

How about the mechanics using hospital equipment, parts and supplies on company time for their private side jobs.

Anonymous said...

what about acr's with pts confidential info being left out in open view in the ambulance garage? Isnt that violation of HIPPA laws?

Anonymous said...

maybe we should go to the tape?????

Anonymous said...

Stop blamming the poor people of Jamaica. They deserve care and cannot help their situations. Blame the people that steal time, equiptment and get favors to get supervisor jobs
Is that you Kate and Chris

Anonymous said...

I have found CM’s management lacks a basic skill set that is expected for someone in his position. He is unable to judge whether an individual can coordinate, communicate, read and write, or chew gum. He has never had any demonstrated success at the basic management level, why was this man given an opportunity to lead? He has no decision-making and problem solving skills! From Ambulance Attendant to Vice President, what next?

Anonymous said...

Lets see...over $50 million in NYS tax dollars pumped in and what to show? NOTHING. Now if that $50M was used to shore up and expand Queens Hospital Center, Jamaica Hospital, Flushing Hospital and seed the Northshore rebuild of that piece of crap on Queens Blvd., that might look like healthcare planning. But no, Malcolm and Helen just want to throw more cash on the Caritas bonfire in an attempt to fool their constituents. Sometimes ya just got to pull the plug, but hey, maybe the leadership at QGH, JH, FH, and Northshore didn't contribute to the proper campaign. CM & AH, where do you think your next job will be?

Anonymous said...

My Union sold me down the river!
1199 is so full of crap! They are part of the problem of why both hospitals can not run efficiently. Our delegates care less about any of us. Charlotte and Terry don’t work half the day, they just roam the halls creating havoc. 1199 does not care about the average worker, it’s a ponzi scheme!

Anonymous said...

how about getting a broom and sweeping the dirt off the floor.

Anonymous said...

Kate and Chris who will you lie to next? Unemployment bad feeling?

Anonymous said...

Why did a large number of the female employees leave Mary Immaculate on their own accord?

Anonymous said...

HEY KATE ARE YOU GOING TO LIE YOUR WAY OUT OF THIS ONE? Maybe you can set up and harrass your employees like you are so good at.

Anonymous said...

How about the other empty suit ambulance manager JB? Ohh I forgot he does not own a suit! He comes to work dressed like his pumping gas at a Citgo gas station.

Anonymous said...

A noble idea…….how about recruiting a proven successful leader who would like to establish a long term relationship within the facility? Wow what a concept!

Anonymous said...

MIH should stand for - Make It Happen instead of Management Incompetence Healthcare. You got that Chris!

Anonymous said...

Lets see.....its Friday night ....I bet theres not a supervisor in sight....but they are on the clock and getting paid ......Hey JB where are you, its not even baseball season yet.

Anonymous said...

christine get over it!!!does it feel good to bash people some of us do work and very hard you must be such a professional did we forget about the people???the community?is'nt that why we do it

Anonymous said...

True John remember when you used to know right from wrong? But better to keep your mouth shut and not tell the truth so you can work your way up . You are the worst group of liars . Guess you never had integrity

Anonymous said...

Good thing we had the FDNY bosses to look out for our units and help us when we needed it. Our paid stay at home superviors were never around. Ethics Integrity lack of at MIH

Anonymous said...

St. John's and MIH are Catholic institutions where is Bishop DiMarzio!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh thats right he's not in to caring for the sick. NOT TOO PROFITABLE. Sorry bishop, no catholic appeal support from me or my family.

Anonymous said...

All these people with comments about MIH why not post your names? The people who have been at MIH for a long time know the truth. The people who have comments about MIH ambulance department we know who you are, that is why it is great when you post your comments it shows your true colors, and thanks for your version.... then there is the truth.

Anonymous said...

Dear Mike (if that is really your name????)
All these people with comments about MIH why not post your names? We don’t post our names because we are still employed and there is still a chance that MIH can remain open and we do not want to be shown the door like our former co-workers (victims of vindictive management). Oh yes, the people who have been at MIH for a long time know the truth and they know it well! The author of last week’s informational flyer was right on the money. I guess your going to tell us that that’s a lie too.

Anonymous said...

Chapter 7? What will happen to the 12 million owed to local 1199? Why was this sale of the hospitals allowed in the first place? DOH new Caritas was a start up company with the backing of Wyckoff. Do you remember Wyckoff terminating thier CFO 3 months after the purchase when it was discover he placed a decimal in the wrong place. This has been a scam from day one. When you by a business your also buying its debt, DOH new immediately after the sale that they did not have the dollars to support this transfer of ownership. Instead of voiding the sale DOH buried it with full knowledge it was doomed. Now they need to get this right. this closure can put thousands on the public payroll or support it to allow it to in time support itself.

Anonymous said...

Did you ever think people just cant stand Kates reign of terror? People who yes I still work there are subjected to. We all know about her lies and forged documents. Her consistent crying to Chris and telling everyone that people are always going to go after her family. People cant be bothered with her family. Yet she has made these remarks over and over. So just stop assuming people who do not work there are the ones writting the comments. The truth is the truth.

Anonymous said...

Lets not forget all the people who ran to the union for help even when they should have been fired. Yet how quickly you turned your back on them after your jobs were saved. Face it this place is vindictive KATE and eaither you cover and lie for her or she pulls her crying stunts. Years and Years of this. We still are experiencing this. So MIKE open your eyes or were you one of the people who needed your job saved in the past?????????

Anonymous said...

The tide appears to be rising. Chris dispatched his goon squad out late last week to find who distributed the flyers and who is posting on this website.

Anonymous said...

I am not sure if Christine is contributing to this blog. But, I am not Christine. We all saw the ordeal that Kate put her through. Kate, I know that you are reading this, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Anonymous said...

What about turning her back on yvonne and Tina after them almost being badly injured in the ambulance.
Kate go see Dr. Smith

Anonymous said...

ray ray get over your fucking self stop being a little bitch and writing messages on this damn page cause your ass is out of a damn job....if you didnt lack as a worker you wouldve still been with the hospital so suck it up and get a life.

Anonymous said...

ppl shouldnt badger the delicates....if your gonna call someones name out make sure u have it spelled correctly!!!!! CHARLOTTE and TERRY are the best delicates that we have in 1199 i wish there were more ppl like them 2 with the fire in there eyes, they stick up for what is right.charlotte and terry are both carring and loving ppl when it comes down to other ppls jobs they sit and listen to you problem and find some kind of justification for you they also put there jobs on the line to defend the employee so maybe you should get you facts straight before you go posting something on the internet!!!!

Anonymous said...

as for ray ray if you wasnt so much involved with money n being greedy about it you wouldve still had a job but ppl like yourself dont need to work for the hospital when it comes to greed. but just suck it up and deal with what your getting now which is unemployment!!!!

Anonymous said...

It is sad to see that some of my co-workers have a spelling issues.

Anonymous said...

Just like the earlier poster stated.

The tide appears to be rising. Chris dispatched his goon squad out late last week to find who distributed the flyers and who is posting on this website.

Looks like management is in panic mode!

Anonymous said...

Went for a job interview last week at another facility, they trashed the MIH management. The interviewer told me that I was one of about 20 employees from Caritas looking for work. I am hopeful that I land the job, because it looks like the end is near for Caritas. I need to jump ship, I have bills to pay!

Anonymous said...

the reason why your employees cant spell is, cause half of them didnt get there full high school education alot of them only made it to the 9th grade

Anonymous said...

look, it's unfair for some of the same employees who Charlotte and Terry got of the hook with management are shitting on their names now either because their now unemployed or will be because of the possible closing of the hospital. Their delegates who are entitled to certain benefits and making sure the contract is being enforced and that management is not infringing. KNOW YOUR CONTRACT AND READ IT TONIGHT!!!

Anonymous said...

What happened to the newspaper article in the NY Daily News 1/30/09 about a Queens company giving 180 million dollars to keep both hospitals open? It was rumored to be a not true. Who said it was not true? How did a major news paper like The Daily News publish a mistake and never recanted it? What happened to the money? Why was the Town Hall meeting canceled for that day? If the info was incorrect, wouldn't a meeting been a necessity to clear up the mistake?

Anonymous said...

What is unfair is that Charlotte’s co-workers had to pick up the slack while she is performing union work on company time. She should have been taken off the MIH payroll years ago and put on 1199’s. I have read the contract and hospital policy, with the exception of certain events, union delegates can not perform union business on company time. They need permission to be excused. I am pissed and shitting because our patients were getting short changed by an employee who wore her union hat while she was working, not caring for the patients. This contributed to poor patient care and poor customer service. As a result MIH continued to spiral downhill. Management has been infringing on our rights for years and nothing has be done to correct them.

Anonymous said...

When you 1199 members had a problem, which DELEGATE solved your problem? Charlotte/Terry???
I was a delegate until I changed my job title.Thank you 1199 for the training with full pay while in school, with benefits. What about the Joseph Tauber Scholarship Fund for your kids in college? Camp fund Mortgage help? We lose our hospital.. hello Job Security Fund. Caritas will not pay out our vacation.. hello grievance from your lousy union. 61yrs with 10yrs on job.. hello full pension.
THE HELL WITH 1199(sic) THANK YOU 1199. I will always want to be a member of this great union...

Anonymous said...

it seems like ppl are getting dumb and dumber by the hour....from what i understand that it is in the contract for a union delicate to perform duties while an employee is in need of assistance so it has nothing to do with payroll.

Anonymous said...

i see that theres alot of haters on charlotte cause she does her job right and knows her shit but hate on cause at the end of the day she is still employeed with MIH and your not so STOP HATTING!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

We get about $200 a month for 10 years of service with 1199. I can't live on that.

Anonymous said...

Today's Daily News says they need another $36M (bringing the total to $86M)! PULL THE PLUG! PULL THE PLUG! PULL THE PLUG!

Anonymous said...

I think maybe if your corrupt, lying and thiefs you had in the ambulance dept were replaced sooner you might have styed open.Take a good hard look at Kates track record over the years. It has never been professional to say the very very least.

Queens Crapper said...

$36M? So what? Willets Point will cost $400M to destroy people's jobs and take their land. And we all know nothing will ever be built there. So which is the bigger waste of money?

Anonymous said...

bla bla bla

Anonymous said...

I guess you'd rather see shiny condos than peoples lives get saved. Shameful.

Anonymous said...

Treat the pts at Jamaica. At least their confidential info is not out in public view of everyone in the garage. HIPPA LAWS VIOLATED. Stealing time another violation. New management is needed Honest ones not corrupt ones. Start with Chris and Kate.

Anonymous said...

ANONYMOUS ........and you know who you are...... you said "ppl shouldnt badger the delicates....if your gonna call someones name out make sure u have it spelled correctly!!!!!" ......WELL well well F.Y.I THE WORD is spelt DELEGATES not delicates see the difference. now who need to check there spelling now, you all are a bunch of ignorant and illiterate workers with nothing to do . You want to talk about people well talk about things that really maters like how to keep MIH up and running look around people some of us come to work like we just roll out of bed if MIH close i wonder what some of us are going to do some of people hide behind the word DELEGATE AS IF THAT IS THE ONLY JOB THEY HAVE TO DO .
CHARLOTTE you better hold on to that DELEGATE JOB because that is the only job you will every have no one will every employ you with your body Odor, yes you need to brush your teeth some time and change your scrub every day, people talk and they will always talk but i am only saying the thing that they want to say but are afraid to say it .

Anonymous said...

Queens Crapper...Willets Point has its own blog. Besides at the end of this mess don't you think St. John's & MIH could suck $400M out of the taxpayers and still have nothing to show? Let's not be naieve, W.P., M.I.H., S.J.Q., all just acronyms for taxpayer sinkholes, the difference here is instead of a smooth water landing in the Husdon, the folks at Caritas are on board an Egypt Air flight to nowhere but the bottom of the ocean (but CM & AH will have their parachutes at the ready).

Queens Crapper said...

"Queens Crapper...Willets Point has its own blog. Besides at the end of this mess don't you think St. John's & MIH could suck $400M out of the taxpayers and still have nothing to show?"

Nothing to show except saving people's lives? We can't afford to lose 2 hospitals. In fact, we should be building more before we bring in thousands more people to Jamaica, Willets Point, LIC, etc. And "Willets Point has it's own blog" is the dumbest statement ever. Willets Point is in Queens and affects you whether you want to believe it or not. Now please continue ripping other employees apart. It's very constructive.

Anonymous said...

Come on....do you really expect the taxpayers and the State to fund 2 hospitals that have been destroyed by corruption and poor management. In today's healthcare market, these hospitals cannot survive functioning as one system. These hospitals should have been sold separately many years ago......in fact, North Shore has it right....consolidate the services and construct one state of the art facility that can provide quality care that the community deserves.

I'm sick and tired of all of the political "grandstanding" on the value of maintaining these hospitals. What I would like to see is a real proposal for growth and survival of these hospitals in a very tough market. No hospital can operate millions of dollars in the red and provide a quality service. It serves to no one's best interest to keep the hospitals open if they are providing poor care. When I say poor care....this does not speak to the staff who are committed to providing good care....this speaks to the lack of resources to invest in services that would benefit the community it serves.

Anonymous said...

Maybe they should stop taking care of people who don't pay. Then they would make a profit. Until then, they are our responsibility. There are no other privately-run hospitals catering to these neighborhoods, so it means they will overrun Elmhurst and Queens General.

Anonymous said...

"Come on....do you really expect the taxpayers and the State to fund 2 hospitals that have been destroyed by corruption and poor management."

Don't the taxpayers already fully fund the municipal hospitals? Why can't they fund these?

Anonymous said...

DELEGATE AS IF THAT IS THE ONLY JOB THEY HAVE TO DO .
CHARLOTTE you better hold on to that DELEGATE JOB because that is the only job you will every have no one will every employ you with your body Odor, yes you need to brush your teeth some time and change your scrub every day, people talk and they will always talk but i am only saying the thing that they want to say but are afraid to say it.


well well well you dumb bitch go bk and re-read the top of this and tell me if you made any sense....instead of correcting ppls voc maybe you should start by correcting your own....you must have failed english class in every grade and college even if you went to college but from the looks of it you probably didnt....and from what i heard your vaginal area smells like dead fish and if your a dude i heard that your dick is soooo small they need a magnifying class to find it.....dont get it twisted for a split second ya'll need to stop hatting on someone that probably gets paid more then you do and everyone has respect for....yall is a bunch of hatting bitches...imma keep coming after yall everytime someone talks shit about charlotte....if yall is so tough why dont you reveal yourself and we can meet up so i can stick my foot straight into your ass!!!!! let me know where you stay at so we can do this dance!!!!!

P.S it seems like everytime i come to MIH i always see ppl with the same dirty ass scrubs on for like days without it getting washed so before you go talking about other ppls scrubs check your own and make sure your shit is straight before you go calling someone out with theres.....and i know who is writing these notes about charlotte imma put you out there you have dark circles around your eyes and you have black spots on your nose and you sit right across from her....and i bet i know where those black spots came from on your nose its from sniffing managements ass!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Mary Inacurate is not the only hospital that takes care of people with no insurance. Stop blamming the people in South Jamaica. Try starting at the top where the corruption began. There will be many people with no insurance in the near future. Everyone deserves care. But They Deserve GOOD CARE.
Have Kate and Chris pay back some of the money they got paid when they were not there. Like wall street enough of the top corrupt people getting away with it.

Anonymous said...

To the ignorant person who feels people with no insurance should not be treated. I only hope if you dont have a job you can pay the high price of insurance. So if your ill or find a lump on your breast do you not deserve treatment because you cant afford the insurance??????? You do not know everyones situation and why they dont have insurance. Dont judge. It could be you one day with the way the economy is going.

Anonymous said...

Not looking good. Chris is advising us to cash paychecks before 3pm tomorow. Looks like Chapter 7 tomorrow afternoon.
It's appears to be over, it did not have to be like this.

Anonymous said...

"To the ignorant person who feels people with no insurance should not be treated."

I never said that. In fact, I said the exact opposite.

Anonymous said...

BYE BYE KATE. Call Dr Smith maybe she will treat you for free.....
Life is one big circle when you are a liar, and piece of trash in society

Anonymous said...

Word is that the board voted for liquidation. Not good. Where am I going to get a job, 20 years down the drain!

ANONYMOUS said...

YOU GO QUEENS CRAPPER !!!!!!!!!!!!! Put everyone in their place. This blog is getting pretty nasty and God don't like ugly. I am still praying for SJQH and MIH

Anonymous said...

Message to Queens Crapper. I agree with you when you say that we can not afford to lose 2 hospitals and we should be building more before bringing in thousands more to various Queens neighborhoods. I can not see the state trusting the current management with more of our taxpayer dollars. The VP’s (CM and AH) of both hospitals have no positive record of accomplishment on their resume’s. Both of these facilities can be restored to their former glory with new charismatic and proven leaders. Without this structural foundation, these facilities can not and will not succeed. I have been an employee within the system for many years and have watched the downturn, it all points back to who’s in charge. Unfortunately, the lack of competent management has resulted in poor collections of account receivables, lack of productivity by some employees (the favored), various criminal allegations, Good MD’s leaving because they are disgusted with management, disenfranchising the communities in which they serve, allowing certain union delegates to dictate policy, causing a lack of morale. Both of these facilities have become an old boys club!

Bring in a management team with a proven track record and you will see these two facilities thrive!

Anonymous said...

The downfall of MIH & St John's is a sad case. The blame has to be forwarded to the responsible parties.The hospitals did nothing its the people in mgmt and the board who are to be blamed. MIH is in a very diverse area of queens, where some af the patients seen are uninsured but they are not the ones who mismanage the funds given to the hospitals.The hospital gets money from the state, medicaid and medicare make payments for services rendered. Where did this money go? In the pockets of CFO's, CEO's and consultants. Why do we need someone from Texas, California,Georgia of whereever they are from to tell us how we need to run our facilitis.

Anonymous said...

From the January 7, 2007 Queens Courier: “Our vision is that of three equal hospitals joining together and supporting each other in an effort to become the preeminent healthcare entity in this market, fulfilling the healthcare needs of the communities we serve and surviving in an increasingly difficult financial environment,” said Chris Mastromano, Vice President of Mary Immaculate Hospital.

Way to go Flounder! Now go buy 10,000 marbles and take the rest of the town out too!

Anonymous said...

Excessive Executive Compensation = Going Out Of Business!

Anonymous said...

“Flounder” what a great nick name! I would like to take the privilege of modifying the nick name to “Red Ears Flounder.” Is it me or does his ears turn red when he is lying? He also becomes very animated when he lies.

Oh, I forgot, he reads this blog. I let the cat out of the bag. Let’s see if he tries to change his telegraphic ways in our final days.

Anonymous said...

"P.S it seems like everytime i come to MIH i always see ppl with the same dirty ass scrubs on for like days without it getting washed"

Good Point!
Again where is management??? Employees are expected to arrive to work in clean uniforms, practice good hygiene and look professional at all times.

Chris, all this happened on your watch. This would not be tolerated by a competent manager in any other company. I good leader is supposed to motivate and inspire workers to take pride in themselves so they may take perform to the highest of standards within an organization!

We were run into the ground due to the lack of leadership! Chris created a culture of failure and we (the employees) and the patients that we serve are now going to pay the price for incompetence.

Anonymous said...

get over it already!!!there are still some of us who do care about MIH and have put work in to keeping it open. we are going down with the sinking ship now. the same people who are commenting are the same ones who helped this ship come down one way or another.none of you were perfect and i'm sure alot of you had your neils and eye brows done on a 10-100. or did you ever have to pay a bill???run to the bank?? go screw yourselves and good luck in the privates!!

Anonymous said...

Where are you now????Exceptin front of a computer all day posting coments.really get over it people.people are losing their jobs. and good people. and educated ones too!!!

Anonymous said...

Below is very a interesting statement from Chris Mastromano. Another false statement that in time becomes a lie.

I would like to also put my bid in for his nickname.

How about “Pinocchio ears?”


VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
Tuesday, August 22th 2006, 7:17AM
Before spouting rhetoric about local organizations that they hope to represent, politicians should check the facts about the hard working institutions that have long cared for and will continue to serve the people of their community.
Chris Mastromano
Vice President of Operations
Mary Immaculate Hospital

Anonymous said...

get over it already!!!there are still some of us who do care about MIH and have put work in to keeping it open. we are going down with the sinking ship now. the same people who are commenting are the same ones who helped this ship come down one way or another.none of you were perfect and i'm sure alot of you had your neils and eye brows done on a 10-100. or did you ever have to pay a bill???run to the bank?? go screw yourselves and good luck in the privates!!
Where are you now????Exceptin front of a computer all day posting coments.really get over it people.people are losing their jobs. and good people. and educated ones too!!!

I am still an employee at MIH, unfortunately due to a poor economy I will be “going down with the ship,” also. But, your last two statements trouble me. Your grammar and spelling is atrocious. If you want the general public and our co-workers to believe that you are educated, please check your grammar and spelling before posting, its embarrassing! You are falling right into the hands of the nay sayers. I located about twenty different illiterate situations within your last two postings. We are all human and make mistakes, but your posts should be proof read before submitting. By the way, can you translate this statement, “I’m sure a lot of you had your nails and eye brows done on a 10-100.” Can you define this statement or is that another typo?
Good Luck Brother or Sister. Long live MIH!

Anonymous said...

are we still on this?it takes more than one person to bring a hospital down. how far does your education go, really?? we are talking about high school economics. this is bigger than one department. get over it!!!

Anonymous said...

I have a HS Diploma.

Anonymous said...

Wow..................
As a long time employee of MIH and SJQ's, I feel a little anger in many of the postings on this site.

I am very sad at the events of the last seven years that have led to the demise of the two health-care institutions.

I have many friends and acquaintance's

Anonymous said...

Please see information below.


Mary Immaculate Hospital (H 36)
Effective 0001 hours, Tuesday, February 10, 2009
- No longer an authorized 911 ambulance destination for patients requiring PSYCHIATRIC care

Effective 0001 hours, Saturday, February 14, 2009
- No longer an authorized 911 ambulance destination – NO PATIENTS shall be transported to this hospital


St. John’s Queens Hospital (H 39)
Effective 0001 hours, Tuesday, February 10, 2009
- No longer an authorized 911 ambulance destination for PEDIATRIC patients.

Effective 0001 hours, Saturday, February 14, 2009
- No longer an authorized 911 ambulance destination – NO PATIENTS shall be transported to this hospital


Marie C. Diglio, EMTP
Executive Director Operations
Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of New York City
475 Riverside Drive, Suite 1929
New York, NY 10015
Tel: (212) 870-2301, option 4
Fax: (212) 870-2302
Email: mdiglio@nycremsco.org
Website: www.nycremsco.org

Anonymous said...

RIP, Caritas
Exactly what killed Mary Immaculate and St. John’s Queens hospitals? That was the question on many minds on Friday with the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of Caritas Healthcare. A decade ago, the two hospitals were part of the Catholic Medical Centers of Brooklyn and Queens. Then they were merged into another Catholic system to form the Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers. Many people believe that merger marked the beginning of the end for St. John’s and MIH. The two hospitals never really fed patients to the mother ship in Manhattan. Worse, they quickly came to be seen as an outer-borough financial strain on SVCMC, which itself filed for bankruptcy in 2005. The court approved the sale of the two hospitals to an entity controlled by Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in May 2006. MIH and St. John’s never recovered from that move. The death certificate, if there were one, would probably cite poor governance, management and reimbursement as the causes of death.

Anonymous said...

THE TRUTH IS OUT!
We (the employees and the patients) have become political pawns. Today, management had several of our doctors escorted from St. John’s because these doctors had the courage to ask why doesn’t the Caritas board approve a sale to a group of Private Investors? These investors ask for no public dollars, they have a Business Plan and are assuming the risk with their own dollars, not the tax payers. The board and management’s answered these doctors questions by calling the Police. So, much for involving us in the process! It has become clear that for what ever reason, a certain organization does not want us to survive. Talk about Corporate Greed!

We can take this in a supine position or we can start to fight back by demanding that the board and the current administration resign immediately!

Anonymous said...

Goodbye to the best gosh darn garage. Screw the management, screw st vincent, screw caritas, if MIH were given the opportunity and we got rid of these croonies WE WOULD SURVIVE!


R.I.P. M.I.H.

Anonymous said...

For the past couple of years we the employees have been exposed to CM's tyranny! We can overcome this by mobilizing against him. We only have a couple of days left, if we do nothing, we will go down like Enron. We still have an opportunity to stay in business if we can remove King Chris from office and have fresh leadership take another look and approach at the situation. There are private investors that believe that they can make our facility work. Why aren't they alowed to purchase the facility. MIH has been heading for disaster for a considerable period of time. Chris has appeared to have been willing to allow the hospital to continue on a self-destructive course and when someone got in his way (whistle blowers), he fired them. Chris should be forced to resign before we are terminated!

Chris is now attempting a backrom deal to remain at his current salary of a quarter of a million dollars for the next year by staying after the closing to account for the inventory. This could last for years, don't beleive me, the St. Mary's closure team is still employed by St. Vincents.


We need to DELETE the past in order to install a new future! We must call the board members to demand that Chris be fired immediately and be prepared for change, because we only have our chains to lose. He must be punished! Throw "Red Ears" out!

Anonymous said...

Posted by John

I have authored a couple of the blogs on this site and want to write one more. I do not work at MIH anymore because I did not want to be held accountable for the broken equipment that would potentially endanger lives and my reputation. For Kate it was business as usual and if you complained, you were on her Sh_t list and she then made your life and employment difficult. After awhile you realize its not going to change and you move on and find another employer. Improper maintenance of defibrillators, broken defibrillators, radios that did not work, missing equipment, broken down unsafe ambulances, no heat or A/C, no security, no patient confidentiality. The place was like a revolving door, Paramedics quitting or getting fired was commonplace. This was not a healthy place to work. Kate, I know that you read this blog every day, I hope that one day you get half of what you dished out. You are a poor example of a supervisor. I hope that you dwell on the evil you caused while you are getting your hair and nails done on your own time.

Anonymous said...

What's Happening at 1199SEIU Family of Funds?
Are you tired of being disqualified for a position? Are you tired of being wrongfully terminated? Are you tired of unfair pay increase and promotion opportunities? Are you being discriminated against? If you answered “yes” to any go to this website: http://unfairfund.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Amazing. No one cared what Chris And Kate did to other people. You all stood there and watched. You were not on her witch hunt so you did nothing. You know she lied, you took out the broken equiptment but you did not care because it was not you. Now suddenly you do care. Maybe years ago during her terror reign which was nothing but vindictive everyone should have told the truth and stood together. Its too late now. The truth always comes out. I feel bad for all of you. Its a real bad feeling after you gave and took so much.

Anonymous said...

Kate,
Hope you finally feel and pay for all your mistakes. All your story telling, lies, nasty phone calls, nasty remarks placed on peoples time sheets, all you crying everytime you felt the truth would come out. Hope for one day you know what a bad feeling you caused people. Does not feel good. YOU DESTROYED THE GARAGE along with your boyfriend Chris. No secret there. Shame on you and remember one day ot all comes back. You are evil and a liar........

Anonymous said...

Posted by John S

The above poster is correct. No one cared about what Chris and Kate did to other people because we fell for their schemes on demonizing the person they were going after. They strategized their plan well, they picked us off one by one. It is a shame that Chris and Kate did not spend some of this time properly managing the facility. May-be MIH would have stood half a chance. I suddenly did care when they put a bulls eye on my back before I knew what happened and it was to late for me. Like you said “the truth comes out.” We all know about the "Special Relationship"! May-be others need to be informed!From what I understand Chris had many "Special Relationships."

Anonymous said...

Hey Kate,
How many times did you send me and my co-workers out in unsafe ambulances?

Anonymous said...

all i can say to the last statement is DITTO our garage was torn apart karma is a bitch

Anonymous said...

Kate you tried to destroy peoples good reputations and did a great job with all your made up stories. Then you cried to Chris that those people were going to get you. Dont flatter yourself people never cared about you they loved their jobs only. You sent us out with broken equiptment tires falling off ambulances and anytime someone was hurt it was the FDNY bosses that had our backs. You did not become a supervisor because you were a good street medic. So it must have been all your drama. You did not care how you destroyed people who really did give a shit about being good medics and emts. As long as you were jelous of people you destroyed them. You and Chris M. I hope you truly feel an ounce of pain that you have caused others. You are the Devil in NY. All comes back around. Seek help and learn how to speak the truth. You cant live your whole life in a lie. Thats all you do. Pretty sad and pathetic. Trust me know one cares about you and dont waste our time thinking of you. Just how you destroy good solid people. SHAME ON YOU KATE.

Anonymous said...

Challenge Kate and your doing drugs and shipped to Dr Smith. Funny no one was doing drugs. Kate you never let that truth out eaither. Maybe just maybe you are the one with the problem. You destroyed a garage that should have been tops in ny. Your lies and hate destroyed the best in people. Sorry for the people of South Jamaica. You did have some great als and bls there to help you.. Many really cared.

Anonymous said...

Kate and Chris, maybe your relationship can come in the open now. I cannot imagine they care about a blog or any comments. You would have to be human to do that. Maybe Kate can lose some of the pounds she recently packed on while on unemployment. She gained a few extra pounds last couple months, she's gonna have to lose it so it will be easier to get off her knees after her next interview.
At least St. John's did not have to deal that much with her. God Bless Bobby and George for having the control not to choke her chicken neck and serve her as BBQ for the staff.
EMS crews of both hospitals did extraordinary work with lack of equipment, poor mgt. (previous named excluded GL/BK) and general hostility from mgt, nursing staff, patients, bystanders and some FDNY bosses (platt (girls dont like your eyes Ed. they are nice to you like to retarded kids)pomerantz good luck back on the streets...etc). The people of Queens, you know the ones who paid our salaries, had no clue what conditions we worked under and did pretty well for what we had. Good luck in the future and try to look out for eachother. We were like a dysfunctional family, we can fight with eachother, but no outsider better mess with us. Kate...well be looking for you on the outside with our appreciation, and well even help you get off your knees on the corners.

Anonymous said...

What a shame. If Alvin Conway (RIP), Tom Dailey, Henry Lobel, Greg Bradley and Frank Rampino were reading this they'd puke. Ann Allen-Ryan and Katie Dolan would be doing back flips, and Morse, Madigan (RIP), Howe and Maguire would mourn as if it was a wake. From a house of God into a house of cards. Let the leaders burn!

Anonymous said...

To the people of South Jamaica
You have lost some medics and Emts who really gave their all. Despite the conditions we were exposed to in the MIH garage. You got the best from the people who cared. Its a shame one corrupt group in mgmt has taken away good care. Kate maybe you can work on South Road. Not sure if you are good enough for there.

Anonymous said...

Question: How much do you think two used sock puppets (CM & AH) are worth on the post Chapter 11 market?

Anonymous said...

No substance, not value for those empty suit puppets!

Unless, someone else wants their buiness destroyed!

Anonymous said...

The two Vice Presidents (AH and CM) have a large amount of explaining to do. 250k a year, expense accounts, incompetence, coruption. How can anyone expect these places to survive. These two are laughing all the way to the bank!

Anonymous said...

hey chris whats the matter cant take the heat, your ears turned red and you ran out of the community board meeting thursday and had to hide at home on friday.we all know that you are a liar, adulterer, back stabber, and a thief.hope you enjoy your vacation cruise next week while the rest of us are looking for work. i guess your going away to try something new, like having sex with your wife. without kate and micky around youll probably have a sperm back up. is your mother still proud that her son ran a hospital into the ground and put a thousand people out of work. by the way, speaking of mother, how was having sex with rose britte? your a real low life. you ran this hospital like you were a godfather using kate and john to do your dirty work. well you know what happens to all godfathers in the end.

Anonymous said...

Wow, what an incredible post! Chris has some giant set of balls drinking margarita’s on a cruise ship in the Caribbean while we are out looking for work! When is his stupidity going to end?

Anonymous said...

Saw the NY1 coverage of Saturday's march from SJQ to MIH and noticed CM was nowhere to be seen. In the military this would be called desertion, but then again treason is a crime as well.

Anonymous said...

Who authorized the removal of bankruptcy materials?

I thought that Caritas is in bankruptcy. Why are we selling off office furniture to another healthcare corporation? Why was furniture taken out of St. John’s and delivered to Jamaica Hospital this week? Is Annette Hastings looking to secure her future employment? Did money change hands? Is the bankruptcy court aware of this? Is there a secrete warehouse (like during the St. Vincent’s bankruptcy and Joe’s closing) where valuable equipment is being hidden and stored? These questions need to be answered!

Anonymous said...

It's interesting that some how Wyckoff has been left untouched in this whole mess and on this blog...also intersesting that no one has mentioned the disappearance of the union and our benefits, when we needed them most.

Anonymous said...

St. Vincents sold off most of our properties and drove us into the ground, taking all the money to Manhattan. Wyckoff came in and sold off Parsons Manor and a couple of parcels, and utilized the money for Wyckoff Hospital, leaving us high and dry with very little assets.

Unfortunately, this does not qualify as a COBRA event. I spoke to the union and then confirmed it with a Labor Attorney. It would not have made much difference to me anyway, COBRA is very expensive at 102% of cost. I am not able to afford it.

I also spoke with the union regarding my WARN monies that are owed, and they took all of my information and are in the process of submitting it to the court. While on the phone, they let me know that there are some training courses available by the union.

The real blame for this mess is the management. They are still employed. CM is still making 250k a year. I saw him yesterday working in blue jeans at MIH. The only good news is that Eric landed the Wyckoff supervisor job instead of the other misfits.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like Chris have some time on his hands. He is blogging to deflect attention. Some of the blame needs to go to Wyckoff and the unions. But the lion share of the blame goes to incompetent management! The unions are still around (I met with my delegate on Monday) but are powerless in getting us everything we need. This is not a good time to be looking for a job.

Anonymous said...

Lets not forget Kate

Anonymous said...

Funny how the Ambulance Department Managers pressured EMS about return rate/patient steering/ kidnapping patients back to MIH, whatever you choose to call it, wasn't what was going to save the Hospital after all. Turns out the problem was much bigger than that!!!