MOUNT VERNON, NY — Community leaders, elected officials, clergy, nurses, healthcare workers and residents picketed and held a candlelight vigil outside Mount Vernon Hospital Thursday to protest its scheduled closing this year.
Montefiore Health System plans to close the only hospital in Mount Vernon and replace it with a state-of-the-art emergency department and urgent care center.
Opponents say the loss of beds will be a loss of critical access to healthcare for city residents. Residents and community members said they faced persistent refusals by hospital management to reexamine their decision.