Montefiore Health System is planning to close Mount Vernon Hospital, which it took over in 2013 after its former operator Sound Shore Health System filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The closing would take place in 2020 or 2021 after Montefiore opens a $41 million health care complex on Sandford Boulevard in Mount Vernon.
Montefiore had acquired both Mount Vernon Hospital and the Sound Shore Medical Center in New Rochelle from the Sound Shore Health System. The hospital is at 12 N. 7th Ave. in Mount Vernon.
When Montefiore made the acquisitions, Steven M. Safyer, its president and CEO, said, “We will build on each hospital”™s strengths and expand ambulatory care to improve the health of the community.”
Montefiore said that the new 40,000-square-foot health care center would offer ambulatory care and emergency services. Patients requiring the inpatient care and surgical services offered at Mount Vernon Hospital could receive them at other hospitals owned by Montefiore. It said that it expects the $41 million cost to build the new facility would be paid via a grant from New York state.
Once the new facility is operational and the existing hospital is shuttered, the property would be put on the market for redevelopment, according to Montefiore. Mount Vernon Hospital was founded in 1891 and is a state-designated stroke center and HIV/AIDS center. It is the home to the Beale Chronic Wound Treatment and Hyperbaric Center and the Montefiore School of Nursing.
Lynn Richmond, chief strategy officer of Montefiore Medicine, said, “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.”
Mount Vernon”™s Mayor Andre Wallace, in a statement released by Montefiore, said, “Montefiore has always been up front about changes in health care that will affect the city, and it is clear that the health of the community is their first priority in carrying out this plan.”
Montefiore said that the anticipated opening for the new center is at the end of 2020, pending required approvals from New York state. It plans to begin discussions soon with elected officials and community leaders about the disposition of the current hospital site.
