For over 19 years, Aileen Balat, a Filipino-American registered nurse, dedicated her professional life to Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, Queens. That's why when told about its imminent closure next month, the single mother of one from Floral Park, Long Island, N.Y., said her heart sank.
“I cried because I’ve been in this hospital for so many years and the timing was really bad,” the Iloilo City-native critical care nurse told the Filipino Reporter on Tuesday. “I don’t know where to go now.” The economy is so bad and many hospitals are either not hiring or laying off employees,” Balat added. “As a single parent, I’m worried about my son who’s in college.
Balat’s co-nurse, Marie Fe Aldana of Jersey City, N.J., said she too wept upon learning the sad news because Mary Immaculate was “my second home, my second family. Many of the nurses cried,” said Aldana, who hails from Alaminos, Pangasinan. “I was still hopeful that it wouldn’t happen, until we got the notice last month.”
But unlike Balat, Aldana, an assistant nursing care coordinator, landed her next job this week at a Manhattan hospital, after sending out resumes the past two weeks. “I can’t afford to stop working because of my two kids in college, mortgage and car payments and bills at home,” said Aldana, whose husband is also a nurse. “Times are tough. I hope all of the other nurses can find a job right away.”
Mary Immaculate Hospital and St. John’s Queens, which both employ numerous Filipino nurses – mostly in special care units such as intensive care and operating and recovery rooms – are shutting down in March, sending an estimated 200 Filipino nurses and workers scrambling to find new employers.
Caritas Health Care, which operates the two hospitals, filed for bankruptcy last week. State health officials said they have given Caritas $50 million in recent years – including $6 million on Jan. 23 – and cannot afford any more financial support.
The system’s 2,500 workers received written notification on Jan. 23 that the facilities may close.
The two hospitals, which have a total annual payroll of about $150 million, provide services to some 200,000 Queens residents every year. Balat said she is also concerned about the well-being of many residents in Jamaica and Elmhurst and most central Queens, many of whom are underserved and uninsured.
“Mary Immaculate is situated in a depressed neighborhood and there’s a big possibility that patients will overcrowd other Queens hospitals,” Balat said.
