The New York State Department of Health is accusing Mount Sinai Beth Israel of violating a "cease and desist" order prohibiting the closure of any beds or services without state approval, Politico reported March 25.
Investigators visited the New York City-based hospital in January and detailed their findings in a March 25 report. They found the facility stopped accepting some stroke patients in its emergency department, ended on-call MRI services and stopped outpatient surgeries after the state issued the cease and desist order Dec. 21. They also identified inadequate nurse staffing levels on an inpatient medical-surgical unit during a Jan. 24 site visit.
The report alleges the hospital failed to ensure that "appropriate resources for delivery of patient care were maintained."
The state has given Mount Sinai 10 days to respond to the findings with a plan of correction. In a court filing related to a lawsuit over the hospital's closure, Mount Sinai said it plans to dispute the findings, according to Politico.
"We are reviewing the NYS Department of Health survey and plan a very detailed and robust response to the state's allegations," Loren Riegelhaupt, a spokesperson for Mount Sinai, told Becker's. "Since September, when we were required by the DOH to announce the planned closure of the 16th Street campus of Mount Sinai Beth Israel, we have had significant staff departures which put severe pressure on our ability to safely care for our patients. Throughout this process we have been in close contact with DOH and ensured they were fully aware of why and how all decisions were made."
New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System is planning to close Beth Israel in July due to growing financial challenges. The teaching hospital, first opened in 1889, has lost more than $1 billion in the last decade.
"Nothing about these allegations change the facts and stark reality at the 16th Street campus of MSBI," Ms. Riegelhaupt said. "The basic truth remains: the dilapidated 16th Street hospital is simply not sustainable and continues to hemorrhage staff and resources. We must close MSBI and nothing about today’s allegations changes these facts."