White Plains, NY – Over 250 people crowded the board room of the Greenburgh Town Hall for a public hearing March 29th, hosted by the Westchester County Board of Legislators’ Committee on Community Services, chaired by Legislator Alfreda Williams (D-Greenburgh), on changes taking place at the Westchester Medical Center.
There are concerns among employees at the Westchester Medical Center that job cuts and changes among program providers are now affecting service levels. These changes include outsourcing the management of programs to private companies, staffing changes and the manner in which services are delivered. In recent months, the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency program, a mobile health crisis unit deployed in the community with first responders, has been closed down, and the Behavioral Health Center has been put under the supervision of a private company, Liberty Healthcare.
Dozens of Westchester Medical Center employees and a number of patients offered testimony to the BOL Community Service Committee members in attendance, including BOL Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers).
“This public hearing gave us an opportunity to gather important information about the quality of patient care at the Westchester Medical Center from the people who are actually doing the work,” said Williams. “We hope the issues between the employees and the medical center’s administration can be solved amicably and without any further detriment to patient care. Both sides should be working to maintain and improve the high quality of health care that everyone expects at the Westchester Medical Center.”
Michael Israel, chief executive officer of the Westchester Medical Center, is expected to give a report to the BOL within the next few weeks.
