Historic Manhattan St. Vincent's Hospital shuts doors

Faced with financial troubles and mounting debts, the historic hospital was forced to shutter its operations. By Friday, no patients were left, and about 3,500 employees were laid off.

There were a few community rallies to keep the private nonprofit hospital open, but the efforts did not succeed. There were no protests outside the hospital Friday, according to police.

Saddled by financial woes, the Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers board of directors voted to close the hospital this month.

"It is a combination of a large legacy debt that we had, the worst recession since the Great Depression and a very challenging health care environment," said Michael Fagan, Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers' vice president for public affairs.

The debt was a result of reorganization efforts in 2005-07, he added. There were other factors, too.

"In New York state, there have been eight rounds of cuts to Medicaid," Fagan said. "And we were a standalone hospital, and so we didn't have the leverage with managed care companies. Therefore we had lower managed care rates than you would when you're aligned with larger academic medical centers."

Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers filed a Chapter 11 petition for bankruptcy this week.

The hospital had been sponsored by the Sisters of Charity, a Catholic order whose ministry seeks to help the needy, and the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, Fagan said.

Located in Greenwich Village, St. Vincent's Hospital provided charity cases and care to the uninsured, handling about $40 million worth of uncompensated care last year.