CMC HARD WORKING GUYS

CMC's  HARD WORKING GUYS

Cabrini Medical Center - Closes its Doors

Cabrini Medical Center

Closes its Doors

Eyewitness News    - Friday, March 14, 2008 

GRAMERCY PARK (WABC) - One of the oldest and best known hospitals in New York is about to close its doors and go out of business. 

Cabrini Medical Center, founded in 1889, tried to keep afloat this last year, even after a state panel advised them to shut down. But now, they're giving up. 

Eyewitness News reporter Jeff Pegues has the story from Gramercy Park.

Giving up the fight to stay open, Cabrini raised the white flag and handed out pink slips Friday. 

 

One year ago, this day seemed inevitable as the state's Berger commission recommended that the hospital close its doors to trim what many considered to be a bloated health care system. Now, the budget ax finally fell.

 

There were a lot of hugs as employees said goodbye to their jobs at Cabrini Medical Center. The hospital is shutting down operations and longtime employees are losing out. "I started in 1975 and the whole hospital was like family," employee Marie said. "Today is a very sad day for us.'' 

These are tough times for the health care industry across the country. The 236-bed hospital is just the latest victim of declining revenues and an eroding base of patients.

Employees knew this day would come, but say it's still hard to swallow. "Very sad, a lot of crying," another employee said. "Lot of tears, very sad.'' 

There is also sadness and frustration among patients, who feel like they are the forgotten ones in the transition. 

"Very sad," another longtime employee said. "We have nice memories." 

The hospital was started by Frances Cabrini in 1889. She was sent to the U.S. by the Pope from Italy to care for Italian immigrants who had come to the city. She was canonized, or made a saint, in 1946.

 

CMC Health Education📚 Fair

CABRINI MEDICAL CENTER 

📚 HEALTH EDUCATION FAIR 📚

by Laraine Tursi, Director
Bazzini Memorial Library * Chairperson, Patient Education Committee

A flurry of activity preceded the actual fair. Many suggestions of just how to organize, plan, who—what to include, raffles, food—the list goes on.

There was a great deal of interest on the part of the staff and several of our Directors of Service took turns manning their particular stations along with the Residents.

The Patient Education Committee worked long and hard on this project, considering all kinds of proposals and ideas, including doing blood pressures to promote heart health and glucose testing while handing out information on nutrition and diabetes. But, as we reviewed our space and personnel, it was ultimately decided to stick to the informational/educational aspects of our mission.

The date was set for Wednesday, June 8, 2005. We reserved Café 1 that houses the computer system and large screen TV. We opened the dividers that separate Cafés 1, 2 and 3 so anyone coming to the cafeteria would be part of the Fair and could partake of our bounty. The Dietary/Nutrition Department provided us with bottled water and beautiful apples as a treat; we had balloons, tablecloths, posters, and smiling faces as the staff prepared for this event.

The tables were set around the room for ease of movement. Some chairs were set facing the screen where we showed MedlinePlus tutorials reflecting the different information tables, such as Diabetes, Sleep Apnea, Rehabilitation, Cardiology, and Smoking Cessation. We took requests from our guests to display various tutorial programs. The Shoulder and Arthritis were some of the requested topics. Our guests—as well as some of the physicians—were amazed to learn that these videos are available to them freely online, provided by the National Library of Medicine. They were directed to our MedlinePlus display and given bookmarks and business cards. 

The Director of Cardiology set up his own laptop with a large monitor and had his own educational material concerning arteriosclerosis. He reviewed with the folks the new process of MRI/CT scan slice to view the inner walls of the arteries in the heart where plaque begins to form between the lumen (interior wall of artery) and the arterial wall. This procedure picks up the beginning of heart disease much earlier than an angiogram. 

 

The Directors of Pulmonary Medicine, Radiation Oncology, and Rehabilitation, provided materials and staff, as well as attending the Fair. As one of the promoters of this event, we in the library were very gratified by the interest of our physicians. It was a great opportunity for us to show off the MedlinePlus program, promote the Patient Education Committee, and for the Directors to highlight their own departments.

Our Social Services Department was kept very busy and had to run off extra copies of the Advance Directives as well as home care programs. Our Hospice table provided end-of-life information. Two pharmaceutical companies provided gifts and informational pamphlets.

We kept a sign-in sheet offering our guests the opportunity to leave their name and address and request follow-up or more information on a particular topic and to participate in a raffle called every hour. 

Over 120 people signed and there was positive feedback from those who attended.    We look forward to making this an annual event at Cabrini Medical Center. 

 Visitor at Cabrini Health Education Fair

Checking the exhibits