COUNTY –– Garnet Health Medical Center - Catskills CEO Jonathan Schiller, on Friday, confirmed reports that the NYS Department of Health (DOH) has rejected the hospital’s application to temporarily close their Critical Care Unit (CCU) for four months.

Following the announcement, the Sullivan County Democrat spoke to several local leaders to get their reaction to the news.

Legislative Chairman Robert A. Doherty, Vice Chair Michael Brooks and County Manager Josh Potosek recently met with Schiller. Doherty told the Democrat that while a large array of services are necessary, as Garnet Health Medical Center - Catskills (including their Callicoon campus) is the County’s sole hospital, it’s also important that they are financially solvent so they can continue their services throughout the County.

“There has to be a balance found somewhere,” said Doherty. “They put in a recommendation to the DOH to change how they operate. And I think maybe that was an overreach. But they do need to find a happy medium. As a County, we need services, but they also need to be solvent so that they can continue serving us well into the future.”

District 2 Legislator Nadia Rajsz has expressed concern in recent weeks about the Legislature not knowing Garnet Health’s plans and vision for the hospital, adding that the body should collectively meet with the hospital’s new CEO and the board, and see if there is someway they can help. She cited possibly reaching out to new Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, who had served as the County’s representative in Congress in recent years.

Rajsz referred to the DOH rejecting the hospital’s plan as a “double-edged sword,” because while she is concerned about the closure of critical departments, keeping the CCU open is anticipated to further the hospital’s financial dilemma. So her attention turns to the State.

“The State needs to do a better job with reimbursements and keeping these hospitals open,” she said, “because we are not the only hospitals that are in jeopardy … We need to protect our residents, make sure they are treated equitably, [that they] have a place to go and not be transported miles away.”

Gunther advocates against closure

NYS Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther has been outspoken on the CCU issue and recently held a rally with nurses from the hospital in late May, urging the DOH to reject the plan that would temporarily close the CCU.

“The rejection of this plan, which would have drastically reduced services in our community, is a victory for Sullivan County residents," said Gunther. "I am proud to have stood by the nurses and advocates who fought so hard to keep this CCU open. I want to thank Commissioner Bassett for hearing the concerns of our community.”

Gunther said that Garnet's plan would have left Sullivan County without CCU beds, and adds that transporting people out of the County is not only bad for residents seeking services, but taxpayers as well.

“The hospital is trying to save money, but if a person is on Medicaid, we're the ones who are going to be paying for transport. It's unacceptable, and we need to work together to find a way to ensure these services are sustainable here in Sullivan County,” Gunther said.

Nurses react

Melissa DiCostanzo is a registered nurse who has worked in Harris for nearly 15 years. DiCostanzo currently works in the hospital’s post-anesthesia care unit and worked before that in the Critical Care Unit.

“Community health and safety is our primary concern here … We have a lot of services here that, as a rural community, we’re the only game in town,”  DiCostanzo told the Democrat prior to the CCU announcement. “If there’s nowhere else for [patients] to go they’ll have to wait for an ambulance to transfer them to a different hospital when these services can be onsite.”

DiCostanzo described it as a domino effect, saying how it would adversely affect surgical services and patients would simply choose to go elsewhere. The cost of travel would negatively impact the patient and their families and using ambulances for transport would affect the number available for emergencies.

“There are a lot of community safety concerns,”  said DiCostanzo. “Patient care is taking a backseat to finance.”

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN told the Democrat that they are relieved that the CCU will not be permitted to close—even on a temporary basis.

“This is a victory for the patients of Sullivan County, for the healthcare workers who pushed back and spoke out about this destructive plan, and for the future of quality care in Sullivan County,” said Hagans. “We would like to give special thanks to Assembly Member Aileen Gunther for her solidarity and strong advocacy for patients. Her efforts to stop the closure of essential healthcare services and to strengthen the healthcare system in Sullivan County make the nursing profession proud.”

When asked about next steps, Schiller, whose last day on the job was Friday, said the financial challenges faced by the hospital prior to their DOH application still exist and that they are currently evaluating all of their options.