Saint Clare's Hospital (Manhattan)

Saint Clare's Hospital is a former Catholic hospital, located in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.

Early days

The hospital was founded in 1934 by the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, based in upstate New York, to serve the working-class neighborhood, composed largely of Italian and Irish immigrants to the United States. It provided basic nursing caring, to help with this a school of nursing was founded.

From the services of basic medical care, in an effort to respond better to the changing needs of the neighborhood, the hospital expanded to provide a wide range of services, especially in the field of social service. One example of this was the founding in 1977 of a small shelter solely for homeless women, called The Dwelling Place. It was established by a small group of Franciscan Sisters who took over an abandoned brownstone near the hospital in order to house these women, who often refused to stay in the public shelters because they did not feel safe in them.^[1]

By the early 1980s the hospital had become St. Clare's Hospital and Health Center.^[2] It had a capacity of 250 beds, as well as a small psychiatric unit of 12 beds.^[3]

Provided services

• Nuclear Medicine Services
• Acute Renal Dialysis Services
• Alcohol And/Or Drug Services
• Ambulance (Owned) Services
• Anatomical Laboratory Services
• Anesthesia Services
• Blood Bank Services
• CT Scanner Services
• Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Services
• Clinical Laboratory Services
• Dedicated Emergency Department Services
• Dental Services
• Diagnostic Radiology Services
• Dietary Services
• Emergency Services
• ICU - Medical/Surgical Services
• Inpatient Surgical Services
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Services
• Operating Room Services
• Outpatient Rehabilitation Services
• Outpatient Services
• Outpatient Surgery Unit Services
• Pharmacy Services
• Physical Therapy Services
• Postoperative Recovery Room Services
• Psychiatric Services
• Respiratory Care Services
• Social Services^[3]

AIDS care

When AIDS began to emerge in the United States during the early 1980s, New York was one of the cities hardest hit by it. At that time there were no specialized faculties dedicated to the multiple needs of its early victims. Despite his disagreements otherwise with the gay community, the then-Archbishop of New York, Cardinal John J. O'Connor, approved and supported the opening of such a unit at St. Clare's to care for patients suffering from it, at a time when no known treatment existed.

St. Vincent's Midtown Hospital

In 2003 the Franciscan Sisters came to the conclusion that they could not longer operate the hospital, due as much to the diminishing numbers of members of the Congregation as to finances. Arrangements were made to transfer the hospital to the auspices of Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center, the oldest Catholic hospital in the city, located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood. The transfer was accomplished and the hospital was renamed St. Vincent's Midtown Hospital.^[4]

Closing

In 2005 the Governor of New York, George Pataki, established the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century. Its goal was to evaluate the services and capacities of the hospitals in the state, in order to find ways of streamlining medical care throughout the state, and avoiding the duplication of services. Operating under the Chairmanship of Stephen Berger, it was commonly referred to as the "Berger Commission".^[5]

The Commission determined that St. Vincent's Midtown Hospital was superfluous to the needs of the local community and ordered its closure. This took place on 31 August 2007.^[4]

References