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Brunswick Hospital doors closed but not forgotten The news that Brunswick Hospital Center specifically, and New York state in general, will not provide care and housing for some of the victims of Hurricane Katrina was disappointing in that many looked forward to being able to roll up their sleeves and help out. Surely the outpouring of those who wanted to help was indicative of how the community at large felt about the proposal. Amityville Village was inundated with calls from residents and local organizations who wanted officials to know that they were ready, willing and able to extend a hand to help their fellow Americans in their time of need. It would also have been nice to see the life of that health-care facility extended, giving hope that in a year or 18 months from now, when those individuals and families were able to go back home or to permanent housing, the situation might have changed and Brunswick’s emergency room and hospital could reopen. New York State Health officials believe that the future of health care is in specialization, and that consolidating services is the only way to ensure financially stable hospitals. They are looking to reduce the number of hospital beds across Long Island, which they said are over and above what is needed. Surely keeping health care affordable, and hospitals fiscally sound, is important, and the state’s efforts to do that are reasonable. However, as in most cases when decisions are made hundreds of miles away in offices sealed off from many of the realities on the ground, the bureaucracy making those decisions misses some critical points. In the case of Brunswick Hospital, the emergency room and hospital was the first line of defense for many poor and under-insured residents who have no transportation and who are now are left with few options. These are not individuals opting to have elective surgery, nor are they in need of the specialized care sufficiently provided by other hospitals across Long Island. These are patients who have medical emergencies, need immediate care and who can’t wait or travel to get it. They are the most vulnerable. We would hope that this vital issue for our community continues to get attention from local health-care professionals and public officials in the hope of coming up with some innovative and collaborative approach that would bring together, once again, a hospital with those who vitally need it.
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