The doors of two Queens hospitals were boarded up Sunday with graffiti-scarred wood planks, the latest victims of the tanking economy.The message, say critics: Don't get sick in Queens.
"You already have overburdened hospitals," said Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens). "Good luck trying to get a loved one to emergency care."
Ambulances stood at the ready outside St. John's Queens Hospital in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica in case patients showed up unaware the hospitals were closed.
They shut their doors late Saturday night after budget woes sent them into bankruptcy. Some 3,000 workers lost their jobs at the facilities.
"It's a real failure of government to set priorities and manage them properly," Gioia said. "They throw up their hands when the money runs out and say, 'What can we do?' That's not good enough."
Mayor Bloomberg called the closures "sad" and said the city has to do more with less in these tough economic times.
"Having said that, there is no reason for us to ... walk away from our basic functions of government," he said, adding that the Fire Department will dispatch more ambulances in Queens and for other hospitals to fill the void.
Carlos Quiles, a nurse who lost his job at St. John's, said the next best option for care in Queens is Elmhurst Hospital Center, which is already filled to capacity.
"I can't understand the wisdom behind closing the hospitals," he said. "The politicians clearly have no understanding of the ramifications."
Quiles is worried about finding a new job in a tough economy.
"I just have to leave it all in the hands of God," he said.
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