Mount Vernon Hospital to close, new $41 million health care facility planned
MOUNT VERNON, New York (WABC) -- After more than a century, Mount Vernon Hospital will close its doors in 2020.
Montefiore Health System, which took over operations in 2017, plans to replace the hospital with a $41 million facility about a mile away.
The new building on East Sandford Boulevard will provide emergency room and ambulatory care. But patients requiring surgery or who need to be admitted will have to go to other hospitals.
Mount Vernon Hospital, which opened in 1891, has 121 beds, but admissions have been declining for years.
"Our goal is to bring the most forward-thinking, modern medicine to Mount Vernon and the surrounding region and to provide the highest quality care when and where people in this community need it most," said Lynn Richmond, Chief Strategy Officer of Montefiore Health System. "Our new site puts patients first, reflects best practices in health care and ensures Mount Vernon residents have high-quality care for years to come."
Some residents were disappointed by the news on Wednesday.
"It's a shame to close this hospital," said Mary Dixon. "We need this hospital. We don't need it closed."
In a Facebook post, Westchester County Legislator Lyndon Williams expressed concern.
"I don't know how anyone can be assured that the community's interest is protected when no written plan was distributed explaining precisely how in-patient services will be provided and no outreach made to the community by Montefiore," Williams wrote.
Montefiore says it will keep the hospital open until construction is complete on the new facility.
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