Public Employee Press

Local 420’s Ursula Joseph wins award for helping save Metropolitan Hospital

Local 420 Chapter Chair Ursula Joseph received high honors this summer for her role in saving Metropolitan Hospital from the axe.

Esteemed as one of East Harlem’s defining institutions the premier medical center has been affiliated with New York Medical College and has provided outstanding service to the community since 1875. Ignoring this praiseworthy record, in 2005 the State Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century — popularly known as the Hospital Closing Commission — recommended shuttering Metropolitan.

Joseph, a Nurse’s Aide, took this threat as a challenge and campaigned tirelessly to protect the institution. She and the union partnered with a task force set up by the hospital’s Community Advisory Board. The hospital and community advocates rallied and fought and ultimately were successful.

On June 5, Joseph was honored at the CAB’s annual meeting for her dedication to the cause. Accepting the Petra Allende Advocacy Award, Joseph spoke about the meaning of her work: “I love the work that I do! And I love to advocate — for my members and for my community.” At the meeting, Metropolitan Hospital Center Executive Director Meryl Weinberg described the institution’s many new initiatives and the accolades the institution has garnered over the past year.

The award was established in honor of Petra Allende, a CAB activist who was in the forefront of the community protests that led the city to open the new Lincoln Hospital in 1976. “Allende brought fire and passion to each of her causes,” said Sonia Garcia, Metropolitan’s associate director and CAB liaison. Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx and Metropolitan are both part of the Generations/Northern Manhattan Health Network.