Hearing on Closure of 10th Floor and its Impact on Patient and Staff Conditions on the 9th Floor

A hearing will be held Thursday, January 24 at 1:00 PM City Hall, Second Floor, Room TBA [tentative date] in response to concern about the closure of our Surgical/Oncology 10th Floor, and the resulting stress to staff and patients on the 9th Floor.

We particularly need Surgeons, Internists, Family Practitioners in addition to nurses, to testify.

Those of you planning to testify are encouraged to view Video on the Hearing for the City Operations and Neighborhood Service Committee on the closure of 10 and conditions on 9 to see what testimony has already been heard.

This notice is being sent out three weeks in advance so speakers can arrange their schedules, or arrange for a proxy to read their testimony. It is recommended that you not plan to work the afternoon of the hearing because it may run late. I will confirm the date as soon as I can.

Because the date for this hearing originally scheduled for mid-November was canceled, and then rescheduled for Nov 29th with less than 48 hour notice, many doctors and nurses who wished to testify could not testify. (those of us who did testify, may not testify again).

Please let me know if you wish to testify. We will organize as in the past to see that all major points and concerns are brought forth with as little redundancy as possible. Please send me your testimony or ideas for testimony in advance to help with the planning. Having testimony in electronic form (WORD.doc) will allow me to e-mail it to the Secretary of the Committee, and see that the CPMC Board is given a copy, also. A speakers preparation meeting will be held on Monday January 21 at 6:15 at the hospital (location to be determined)

Supervisor Alioto-Pier called for this hearing before the Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee (same Committee that heard as on October 25).

To his credit, Dr. Brotman has recently informed the doctors that they are making all efforts to turn the two bed rooms back into singles and the four bed rooms back into doubles.) This a direct consequence of our previous testimony and concern expressed by nurses and doctors.

The question, however, of how large a census would warrant the reopening of the 10th Floor is still to be addressed.