Peninsula Hospital Center lays off nearly 300 employees

To reduce its financial burden while its laboratory is suspended, Peninsula Hospital Center will layoff employees and agreed, in partnership with the committee of unsecured creditors and its lender, Revival Funding, LLC, to the appointment of an operating trustee in the bankruptcy case.

Up to 300 employees were laid off on March 2 including 240 SEIU 1199 union members. The union represents nearly 700 Peninsula employees. For how long the workers will be laid off was not specified by hospital officials, who called the lay offs “short term.”

Union spokeswoman Leah Gonzalez said in a statement that members have worked closely with hospital officials to help save the facility. "Our workers are making this tremendous sacrifice for the sake of keeping the hospital open pending corrective measures to bring the laboratory back into compliance."

Peninsula was ordered by the New York State Department of Health to suspend operations and stop admitting patients on Feb. 23, after an inspection of the hospital’s laboratory found multiple deficiencies. Peninsula is on ambulance diversion — meaning patients cannot be transported to the hospital — but walk-in patients are permitted and the Family Health Center is open, as is services such as radiology, cardiology and several others, hospital officials said.

“At the end of December 2011, the hospital began the process of addressing the necessary lab improvements through a remediation action plan, including revising and updating policies and procedures, ordering upgrades to equipment and maintenance routines and upgrades to staffing,” Todd Miller, Peninsula’s chief executive officer, stated in a release on March 2.

Brooklyn-based Revival Home Health Care acquired the hospital, which nearly closed under previous owner Medisys Health Network, in September. Peninsula has been progressing through bankruptcy proceedings and is negotiating with several unsecured creditors to lessen its debt. The hospital and the union agreed to a $10 million settlement for the union’s benefit fund earlier this year. Peninsula owed the union $20 million. Miller has said that he anticipates the hospital emerging from bankruptcy in mid-May. The operating trustee will be an individual who has yet to be named, according to officials.

The laboratory was cited for numerous violations, including a lack of training, competency assessment and continuing education for its personnel, no standard operating procedure for when and what quality control materials should be performed on the blood gas analyzers, and three units of expired plasma were found in the Blood Bank freezer. Patients were transferred to other hospitals or health care facilities or discharged, said hospital spokeswoman Liz Sulik.

Peninsula’s laboratory was previously inspected from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3, 2010, said Michael Moran, a State Department of Health spokesman. A follow up inspection was scheduled for July 12 of last year, but wasn’t conducted after the laboratory manager informed the inspector that the hospital was closing, he said.

“There were problems noted during the previous inspection that were also observed during the most recent inspection; however additional problems were observed,” said Michael Moran, a State Department of Health spokesman.

Peninsula officials said they are working with state health officials to correct the lab’s problems and reopen the hospital as soon

as possible.

“All elements in the Department of Health’s survey of the lab are expected to be addressed by the hospital,” Miller said in that March 2 statement. “Once these initiatives are complete, the hospital is hopeful that the Department of Health will quickly lift the diversion of the hospital through a satisfactory review of our corrective action plan.”

Union members will be enrolled in 1199 Job Security Fund to continue receiving health care benefits and other employment services. "Our members priority is saving Peninsula Hospital so it can continue its vital healthcare services to the Rockaway community," Gonzalez said. "We certainly hope this is a temporary situation."