Northwell Axes 3 Ambulances, 18 Emergency Workers at Lenox Hill Hospital

Northwell Health announced plans to close three 911 ambulances at Lenox Hill Hospital in a move that observers worry could further hurt ambulance response times in emergency situations.

While the hospital itself is on the East Side of Manhattan, the ambulances were stationed primarily on the West Side and often ended up bringing patients to Mount Sinai or NY Presbyterian Hospitals, rather than hauling them cross-town to Lenox Hill.

The cuts drew a sharp rebuke from local union leaders as well as City Council member Gale Brewer, who wrote a letter to Northwell CEO John D’Angelo expressing “serious concern” about the looming cuts which were announced on Oct. 7 to become effective Nov. 7.

“With this decision, they’re losing the vision of what being a steward of public safety entails,” said Jahrodney Williams, a paramedic and a union rep for 1199 SEIU, which represents about 70% of EMS employees at Lenox Hill Hospital. “I think it’s incredibly short-sighted, and it’s going to hurt a lot of people in the long run,” said Williams.

So far, there has been no reconsideration of the cuts. Brewer expressed worry that the move will only worsen emergency response times which were already rising across the city.

In a statement provided to Straus News, Northwell said: “Following a comprehensive evaluation of our ambulance utilization and deployment within the FDNY EMS system, a determination was made to modify a limited number of unit assignments. This adjustment is intended to further optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations within the greater New York metropolitan community, while reinforcing our continued position as one of the largest and most reliable providers of emergency medical services in the region.”

The ambulances include one Basic Life Support unit and two Advanced Life Support units—previously stationed at Columbus Avenue and 72nd Street, Columbus Avenue and 85th Street, and a third near the American Museum of Natural History.

Brewer said many of the EMTs and paramedics “were given minimal notice and offered non-medical positions within the hospital system at significantly reduced pay. I have been told that the decision was based on reduced patient volume returning to Lenox Hill Hospital.”

Lenox Hill Hospital provides eight ambulances to the FDNY 911 system in total.

“They’re afraid about what’s going to happen in 30 days, when their time is up and they have to pay their bills,” Williams said. “People are terrified.” Northwell made the announcement of the pending shutdown on Oct 7 to be effective Nov. 7.

The announced layoffs and closures come at a time when the city’s 911 response times are rising. Fire company response time to life threatening emergencies jumped 5 seconds, to nine minutes, 42 seconds, up from nine minutes, 37 seconds, according to the most recent management report from Mayor Eric Adams, continuing a worsening response time trend of the past several years.

During the pandemic, the delay time stood at 8 minutes and 29 seconds from fiscal year 2021.

The loss of three ambulances “creates a bigger hole for the remaining ambulances to fill,” Williams said.

Lenox Hill Hospital, which recently installed a new CEO to replace Michael Dowling, who is retiring, is about to embark on a $2 billion expansion and renovation plan stretched over ten years. The hospital is owned by Northwell Health.

The Emergency Medical Services Public Advocacy Council (EMSPAC) argued that Northwell’s layoffs have come in response to the increased unionization of ambulance workers in the city.

“The sudden announcement of EMS lay-offs has a public safety impact as well as raises issues of Northwell’s open and notorious contempt for 1199 SEIU’s expansion into its ambulance service,” EMSPAC said. “Northwell has a propensity to shut down the 911 units at garages represented by 1199 SEIU, while incrementally pulling out of the 5-borough 911 system.”

Walter Adler, a paramedic with NYU Langone, a 1199 SEIU member, and an EMSPAC volunteer, said he believed Northwell was cutting staff for three reasons. The first is federal cuts to healthcare spending. The second reason, Adler said, is that it isn’t financially beneficial for Northwell ambulances to transport patients to hospitals not owned by their network. He also suspects that Northwell objects to unionization of the city ambulances.

“Northwell has defeated two attempts in the last 10 years to unionize its 800 Long Island EMS employees,” Adler said. “No huge employer in America wants a powerful, militant trade union.”

On Oct. 14, Williams and his coworkers protested the cuts at the locations of the three ambulances.

Brewer wanted to know what kind of coordination there was with the FDNY over the pending cuts.

”Given the importance of emergency medical response in our district, I would like to understand what steps Northwell took to try to mitigate these layoffs,” Brewer said in her letter to the Northwell CEO.

“In particular, was there an effort to coordinate with FDNY or other partners to adjust catchment areas, reassign coverage, or explore other operational models that could have preserved service and jobs?”

Northwell declined to answer follow up questions from Straus News.