In response to upcoming meeting of Hospital Trustees SAVE EMERGENCY CARE @ ST. LUKE’S CORNWALL launches online campaign, to maintain 24-hour, round-the-clock emergency care at
the Cornwall Campus of St. Luke’s
Caregivers at St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the powerful healthcare workers union, have joined with thousands of Hudson Valley residents urging hospital Trustees and policy makers to maintain full-‐time emergency care at the St. Luke’s Cornwall Emergency Room on the Cornwall Campus. With a meeting of the Trustees coming up on Wednesday, February 25, the campaign has launched a campaign at SaveTheCornwallER
“The fact is that most emergencies can’t simply “wait until the morning.” That is why they are called emergencies and that is why public health law takes emergency care so seriously,” said 1199SEIU member Brandon Weygant, who has worked at the hospital for more than a decade.
The hospital Trustees and administration have made a proposal that would reduce the hours of operation of the Emergency Room on the Cornwall campus by half. In response to that move, SAVE EMERGENCY CARE @ ST. LUKE’S CORNWALL came together, fighting to maintain 24-‐hour, round-‐the-‐clock emergency care in Cornwall.
The group says in their mission statement that “the hospital’s proposal to keep open the Cornwall ER only from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. is dangerous and it is irresponsible.” 1199SEIU members and others have testified at several public hearings that closing the ER overnight means that patients in need of emergency care, whether traveling in an ambulance or in a personal vehicle, will be diverted to another hospital. This means increased travel time to that hospital, possibly delaying life-‐ saving treatment for patients with symptoms of stroke, cardiac arrest, asthma or a number of other serious health problems. The trip to the hospital is even more risky on rural roads and in inclement weather. Timely treatment can make the difference between life and death, or months of rehabilitative services.
Furthermore, closing the ER on the Cornwall campus will place an additional burden on an already crowded ER on the SLCH Newburgh campus, located in a busier and more populated urban area of the community.
Weygant said, “We can go to Walmart any time of night to buy socks, McDonald's any time to get some fries, but heart attacks, stroke's, accidents, and other catastrophes have to wait until 10 a.m. in the morning? We are asking folks to take the time to tell the SLCH Board of Trustees how important it is to have a 24 hour emergency room.”
He continued, “Trustees are meeting this Wednesday, February 25, so timing is important. We are using social media and the good old method of word of mouth, to let people know how important this is and why.”
As of Sunday, more than 3,600 people sent emails to all 16 SLCH Trustees, urging them to “make the health and safety of our community the highest priority and do everything possible to maintain full-‐ time emergency care at the St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital”.
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1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-‐ growing healthcare union in the nation, with over 400,000 members throughout New York State, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.
Caregivers at St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the powerful healthcare workers union, have joined with thousands of Hudson Valley residents urging hospital Trustees and policy makers to maintain full-‐time emergency care at the St. Luke’s Cornwall Emergency Room on the Cornwall Campus. With a meeting of the Trustees coming up on Wednesday, February 25, the campaign has launched a campaign at SaveTheCornwallER
“The fact is that most emergencies can’t simply “wait until the morning.” That is why they are called emergencies and that is why public health law takes emergency care so seriously,” said 1199SEIU member Brandon Weygant, who has worked at the hospital for more than a decade.
The hospital Trustees and administration have made a proposal that would reduce the hours of operation of the Emergency Room on the Cornwall campus by half. In response to that move, SAVE EMERGENCY CARE @ ST. LUKE’S CORNWALL came together, fighting to maintain 24-‐hour, round-‐the-‐clock emergency care in Cornwall.
The group says in their mission statement that “the hospital’s proposal to keep open the Cornwall ER only from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. is dangerous and it is irresponsible.” 1199SEIU members and others have testified at several public hearings that closing the ER overnight means that patients in need of emergency care, whether traveling in an ambulance or in a personal vehicle, will be diverted to another hospital. This means increased travel time to that hospital, possibly delaying life-‐ saving treatment for patients with symptoms of stroke, cardiac arrest, asthma or a number of other serious health problems. The trip to the hospital is even more risky on rural roads and in inclement weather. Timely treatment can make the difference between life and death, or months of rehabilitative services.
Furthermore, closing the ER on the Cornwall campus will place an additional burden on an already crowded ER on the SLCH Newburgh campus, located in a busier and more populated urban area of the community.
Weygant said, “We can go to Walmart any time of night to buy socks, McDonald's any time to get some fries, but heart attacks, stroke's, accidents, and other catastrophes have to wait until 10 a.m. in the morning? We are asking folks to take the time to tell the SLCH Board of Trustees how important it is to have a 24 hour emergency room.”
He continued, “Trustees are meeting this Wednesday, February 25, so timing is important. We are using social media and the good old method of word of mouth, to let people know how important this is and why.”
As of Sunday, more than 3,600 people sent emails to all 16 SLCH Trustees, urging them to “make the health and safety of our community the highest priority and do everything possible to maintain full-‐ time emergency care at the St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital”.
####
1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-‐ growing healthcare union in the nation, with over 400,000 members throughout New York State, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.
