St. Vincent's Hospital, which announced last week it would close its doors at the end of the month, will experience one of New York's largest layoffs, with 3,000 people impacted.

The historic hospital has 3,500 employees, of which about half belong to the 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East union. St. Vincent's Hospital has a collective bargaining agreement with the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York (LVHH), which works as a liaison between the hospital and the union.

It's expected that 1,200 to 1,300 of those employees will lose their jobs when the hospital shuts down April 30, Bruce McIver, the league's president, told DOTmed News.
Staff of the joint project between the hospital and the LVHH -- the Job Security Fund -- will help union employees find work at other hospitals that belong to the league, of which there are 60 in New York City.

"That process begins now," says McIver.

Last year, LVHH was able to place employees who lost their jobs at two Queens hospitals that were formerly owned by Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers--Mary Immaculate Hospital and St. John's Queens Hospital--when they filed for bankruptcy. In that situation everyone was placed within six months, McIver told DOTmed News.

But now, an even bigger layoff during economic hardships makes this process an even more daunting task.

"A layoff of this magnitude... in this current economic environment, we have not had that kind of experience," says McIver, comparing this situation to previous Job Security Fund efforts.

Due to the economic situation, there is a smaller turnover rate in hospitals, says McIver. The only way to find jobs for former St. Vincent's employees is through vacancies at other LVHH-participating hospitals.

It's possible that 150 to 200 union workers who have positions at various outpatient operations may keep their jobs, depending on whether the facilities are taken over by another entity, according to Crain's New York Business. St. Vincent's outpatient services, including the Cancer Center and HIV/AIDS Center, will not be interrupted by the closure, according to a hospital statement.

The 1,500 employees who do not belong to the union include 400 to 500 nurses and several hundred residents. Another 800 are non-union and managerial workers. LVHH does not generally work with non-union workers.

"There are other arrangements made for them," says McIver.

Last week, St. Vincent's Hospital spokesman Michael Fagan told DOTmed News it is unclear what will happen to the laid-off employees.

The announcement to close St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan came after months of try to salvage the 160-year-old health care facility. It owes $700 million in debt, although officials would not comment on how or when this would be paid off. Both Mt. Sinai Medical Center and NYU Langone Medical Center withdrew proposed ventures with the hospital.

The hospital's emergency room no longer accepts ambulances, other than psychiatric patients. St. Vincent's will close its doors April 30, with elective surgeries ending April 14.

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