Public Employee Press

Metropolitan Hospital: state of the art
Community activists and labor unions fought long and hard to save HHC hospitals from being closed. Today these same institutions are rated as some of the best in the city.

By ALFREDO ALVARADO

The many battles the union fought to keep city hospitals open for communities in Harlem, Coney Island and the South Bronx have begun to bear fruit. These Health and Hospitals Corp. facilities are now rated as some of the best hospitals in the city.

DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts recalled the campaigns to save these institutions. “We had to fight hard to keep these hospitals from closing,” she said of the struggles to save hospitals like Coney Island and Harlem from privatization and destructive budget cuts.

Today residents of East Harlem can rely on the Metropolitan Hospital Center, which emphasizes outpatient treatment, ambulatory surgery, comprehensive care and on-going community education.

Recent improvements at Metropolitan include the systematic renovation of the physical plant and an extensively remodeled maternity floor that now features a state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care unit and a patient-friendly postpartum pavilion. Metropolitan has also recently opened two off-site clinics, enhancing its role as a provider of culturally sensitive medical care to the diverse neighborhoods of northern Manhattan.

The new Virology Clinic provides primary care, medicine for HIV-infected patients, access to antiretroviral and related therapy, and outpatient blood transfusions. Patients at the new clinic also have access to an array of services, ranging from nutritional counseling to social and psychiatric services and individual and group therapy.

Family centered asthma care
The Family Centered Asthma Program offers treatment and educational programs for moderately to severely ill children and adults with asthma. The program’s mission is to provide quality disease control, as well as to decrease the number of emergency room visits and hospitalizations for these patients.

Asthma is the leading cause of hospitalization for the city’s children, and HHC facilities serve some of the communities most affected by the illness. Asthma is a particularly serious health concern in East Harlem, which is home to five of the seven bus depots in Manhattan. The buses, with their high concentration of diesel exhaust, contribute to the neighborhood’s air pollution problem.

In a joint effort with the Dept. of Health, HHC facilities have launched a citywide outreach initiative aimed at combating the alarming high rates of asthma. Metropolitan, along with the other HHC facilities, has a fleet of specially equipped vans that make it possible for hospital staff to provide asthma screenings, diagnoses and referrals for follow-up care.

The Metropolitan Hospital Asthma Van is equipped with state-of-the-art video systems, written educational materials and computerized workstations to make appointments for patients on-line.

“The people of this community can rest assured that they will be well taken care of,” said Ahalia Scott, a Clerical Associate II, who works at MHC’s Women’s Health Center.

“HHC hospitals have come a long way,” said Carmen Charles, president of Municipal Hospital Employees Local 420. “And our members will continue to work hard to make sure the quality of care remains high.”