Last weekend was an ideal time to walk around New York City’s West Village. The weather was perfect and people were happy. I was with a dear friend who is a doctor in Philadelphia. She did her first year of residency at St. Vincent’s Hospital in the Village. This is the same St. Vincent’s that is one of the oldest in NYC. The same St. Vincent’s that is the last Catholic hospital in the city and the one that announced last week that it will be closing its doors long after first opening them in 1809.

This came as a huge disappointment to the community and especially to my friend, as many of her colleagues still work at the hospital. I was saddened to hear the news when it first broke, but I was not nearly as devastated as I was after hearing my friend’s additional points on the impact the loss of the hospital will have on the city.

Emergency ambulances have already been diverted away from St. Vincent’s to other city hospitals. The problem? Other city hospitals are maybe only 15 minutes away; however, with normal city traffic during the night and day (not to mention rush hour), it will take ambulances more than 40 minutes to reach them. The result: the immeasurable amount of lives lost in the balance will be staggering.

St. Vincent’s is closing because it is $700 million in debt. That’s no small fee. It is no secret that the hospital took over other hospitals in recent years, which added to its debt. It had also been poorly managed. Yet, with all the government bailouts going to poorly managed entities in the past year, why not a bailout to a life-saving hospital? Hundreds of jobs will be lost. Doctors can be placed elsewhere with minimal issue, but what about janitors, social workers and other employees? I hope in the end the space will be salvaged for some medical purposes.

— Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher