News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 26, 2012

Bellevue Emergency Department Receiving Ambulances Again

(December 26, 2012) The Bellevue Hospital Center Emergency Department is fully staffed and receiving ambulances again for the treatment of non-traumatic and non- critical injuries. Ambulances began arriving on December 24 for the first time since Hurricane Sandy flooded Bellevue’s basement and disabled much of the facility’s equipment.

Bellevue has also added more specialty clinics and ancillary services – including radiology, nuclear medicine, and mammography services – to the outpatient clinics it has been operating since November 19.

“Bellevue plays a vital role in the community and we’re very pleased to be able to offer limited emergency department services there again,” said Alan D. Aviles, President of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC). “Tremendous credit is owed to the dedicated staff and physicians who have worked around the clock since Sandy to bring the facility back into service. We continue to anticipate that Bellevue will be fully re-opened with all services by February.”

The Bellevue Emergency Department has laboratory and imaging services, but will not be open as a Level 1 Trauma Center. Bellevue has worked closely with FDNY/EMS and other ambulance providers to ensure that only non-critical patients are brought to the hospital. Patients who arrive by other means needing admission or surgery will be stabilized if necessary and transferred to an accredited facility that offers the needed service.

Private ambulance services will be on-site 24-hours-a-day to transport patients to other hospitals if needed, and FDNY/EMS is on-call to supplement transport if needed. Transfer agreements are in place with HHC’s nine other acute care hospitals that are accepting inpatients and with designated voluntary hospitals. New Yorkers should continue to call 911 for medical emergencies.

Contact: Ian Michaels (HHC) (212) 788-3339

About Bellevue

Bellevue is a member of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) and is America’s oldest continuously operating hospital, established in 1736. Affiliated with the NYU School of Medicine, Bellevue is a major referral center for highly complex cases. The 828-bed hospital has more than 4,000 employees and runs an extensive ambulatory care program that provides more than 500,000 outpatient primary care and specialty care visits annually. Its emergency room sees more than 125,000 visits every year. Clinical centers of excellence include: Emergency Medicine and Trauma Care; Cardiovascular Services; Designated Regional Perinatal Center and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (ICU); Comprehensive Children’s Psychiatric Emergency Program; and Cancer Services.

About HHC

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a $6.7 billion integrated healthcare delivery system with its own 420,000 member health plan, MetroPlus, and is the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country. HHC serves 1.4 million New Yorkers every year and more than 475,000 are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based clinics. HHC Health and Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. HHC was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission's John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/hhc or find us on facebook.com/nycHHC or twitter.com/HHCnyc.