On Threat of Montefiore Hospital Closing in Mount Vernon
For years I advocated for the political power of Mount Vernon to create new possibilities, not destroy them. Attack the real issues that matter to the people — healthcare is a major one, NOT ATTACK each other for the special enemies of the people. Now is a critical time to organize ALL PUBLIC OFFICIALS in Mount Vernon and Westchester to support the continued operation and expansion of Mount Vernon Hospital. New York Governor David Paterson bears our collective voice before, and I’m confident Albany will hear and act on it again.
Below is an excerpt from a more recent piece published in May 2019. It calls on US — THE PEOPLE to act on the following:
The real fight for Mount Vernon is not with each other, but with those powers and principalities that decide about us, without us. Those responsible for moving health services and safety systems out of our city. This moment of truth must be marked not by Drew’s loss, but Mount Vernon’s gain of a real hospital that has respect for the people.
An uncomfortable reality must be confronted, that is, the lack of commitment to the people of Mount Vernon being matched by the lack of leadership of executives at Montefiore Hospital. Their decisions to not have full trauma services, cutting edge equipment or even a birthing clinic reveals that they simply do not care about common folk with common needs in our beloved community.
Hospital executives and their regulators owe it to the people of my beloved city to answer why we are treated like this. The love of money should not outweigh love of life. I would like to believe that there is no price on life; however, the price tag smacks you in the face when you walk into the hospital and do not see respectable chairs, hand sanitizer stations, adequate parking or basic supplies available. These cheap things can be corrected and must be addressed.
Life is a gift and it’s not promised to any of us. This is why I waste no time in fighting hard for Mount Vernon all the time. For the past few years, political animus has prevented basic services from getting better, and history shows that the appeasement has never worked on political bullies locally or globally.
We are stronger together and must unite to defeat the disinvestment in health and safety systems in our city by the well-established old guard. The future belongs to ordinary people and I vow to fight on to win the fight for the people.
