St. Vincent's is getting a second wind.
Gov. David Paterson has helped negotiate a deal to keep an urgent care facility at the Greenwich Village hospital.
The deal would give Lenox Hill hospital a $9.4 million dollar payment to operate the urgent care clinic, which would function like an ER only without patients admitted.
"Once again, managers and operators in our health care system have taken the initiative to fill in the gaps left by the closure of a key provider in the community," said Paterson. "These projects will create a new model of care that will maintain access to urgent care services on the West Side of Manhattan and expand access to primary and preventive medical care."
Lenox Hill will be joined by North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health Care Inc., which will operate 24/7 transportation for patients in need of inpatient care or more elaborate acute care.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Richard F. Daines said: "Now that St. Vincent's emergency department is almost completely closed, we have a better sense of where patients will be going for care. The services to be provided by Lenox Hill Hospital and the Callen-Lorde, Ryan and Charles B. Wang community health centers will help people who have relied on outpatient and emergency room services at St. Vincent's to maintain access to care when urgently needed and to find a medical home for primary and ongoing care."
The State Health Department will continue to monitor health care services and will work with the State Office of Mental Health to analyze whether further investment will be needed in the community for emergency care and psychiatric services, officials said.
