Patients of Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital in Lower Manhattan have faced delays in receiving lifesaving care because of unapproved service cuts, according to a new report from the state health department.
Through observations and interviews with hospital staff during a visit in late January, state health officials concluded the hospital was operating at severely reduced capacity — in violation of state laws and a cease-and-desist notice the department issued in December to halt the hospital’s planned closure.
The Mount Sinai health system announced last year it would close Beth Israel in phases and shut it down entirely by July. But the health department ordered the hospital not to cut any beds or services without permission. Officials found during the January visit that some service reductions were made after the cease-and-desist letter was sent.
Community advocates on Monday filed the state report as evidence in their own court case seeking to stop Beth Israel’s closure.
Beth Israel was operating with a capacity of 88 medical or surgical beds in late January, when it was certified for nearly 500, according to the report. The intensive care unit, which was certified for 36 beds, had been reduced to 16, and several other units were either closed or understaffed.
The report includes reviews of several incidents where it said the service reductions affected patients with life-threatening conditions.
State officials reviewed the medical records of one patient who was brought into the emergency room at Beth Israel on Dec. 28 and found to be unresponsive, the report said. The patient was diagnosed with an intracerebral hemorrhage, or bleeding into the brain tissue, which requires immediate intervention. But the doctor determined the patient should be transferred to Mount Sinai West because Beth Israel’s ICU was full, according to the report.
Another unresponsive patient was brought to the emergency room at Beth Israel on Jan. 22 and diagnosed with pneumonia and…
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