New York City-based Mount Sinai has filed a motion asking a judge to deny a preliminary injunction that would keep Beth Israel Hospital open past its planned July 12 closure date.
A Mount Sinai spokesperson told Becker's in a statement that closing the hospital "is not a choice but a deeply unfortunate necessity. We look forward to presenting these facts in court.”
The health system announced its decision to close Beth Israel in September and the following month proposed a July 12 closure date. Mount Sinai made the decision to close the hospital despite "massive investments and upgrades" within the past 10 years. The system said escalating losses and chronic underutilization with inpatient use typically at only 20 percent of capacity forced the issue.
A lawsuit led by Community Coalition to Save Beth Israel Hospital was filed in February alleging the planned shutdown goes against New York's public health law, health department rules, the state constitution, human rights laws of the state and city, and the state Environmental Quality Review Act. The suit also alleges that Beth Israel and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary were financially healthy until Mount Sinai took over in 2013 by merging with Continuum Health Partners. Despite promising better care, Mount Sinai closed profitable units at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, such as labor and delivery and neonatal intensive care, and almost all ENT services at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, according to the suit.
The Mount Sinai statement said the system "firmly and directly reject the accusations in this suit." The statement also said Beth Israel has "not been a viable hospital for well over a decade.
"Now, as it continues to hemorrhage staff and resources, MSBI poses an existential threat to the overall system. It is our responsibility to our staff, patients, and communities we serve across New York to do the right thing and not place the system at further risk," the statement said. "We have to be allowed to work with the state on proceeding in a responsible manner or this will have enormously adverse ripple effects across the state for how hospitals are run."
A hearing date in the case is scheduled for April 10, court records show.