Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center
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Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers (also known as Saint Vincent's or SVCMC) was a healthcare system in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, anchored by its flagship hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan. St. Vincent's was founded in 1849 and was a major teaching hospital in the
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neighborhood of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. It closed on April 30, 2010, under circumstances which triggered an investigation by the
Manhattan District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County, New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws (federal la ...
. Demolition began at the end of 2012 and was completed in early 2013. Other hospital buildings were converted into luxury condos and a new luxury building, Greenwich Lane, has replaced the St. Vincent's building.


History


Operation

For more than 150 years, St. Vincent's Hospital served a wide range of New Yorkers, especially in its neighborhood of Greenwich Village, including poets, writers, artists, homeless people, the poor and the working class. It treated victims of the cholera epidemic of 1849 and of the Hudson River landing of US Airways Flight 1549. It was the designated provider for New York and New Jersey members of the U.S. Department of Defense Health Plan. Over time it expanded to become a major medical and research center. It maintained its connection to the
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
tradition, and was sponsored by the Bishop of Brooklyn and the President of the Sisters of Charity of New York.


19th century

St. Vincent's was the third oldest hospital in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
after The New York Hospital and Bellevue Hospital. It was founded as a medical facility in 1849 and named for
St. Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, Congregation of the Mission, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was an Occitans, Occitan French Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving ...
, a seventeenth-century French priest, whose religious congregation of the Daughters of Charity inspired the founding in
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
in 1809 of the Sisters of Charity by St.
Elizabeth Ann Seton Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (August 28, 1774 – January 4, 1821) was an American Catholic Church, Catholic religious and educator, known as a founder of the country's parochial school system. Born in New York and reared as an Episcopalian, she ...
, a native New Yorker and
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
convert. St. Vincent de Paul is the patron saint of charitable societies. In 1817, four
Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition alone, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (whose sisters are also of ...
from Emmitsburg, Maryland at the request of Bishop John Connolly established an orphanage in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. As the congregation grew the sisters opened more orphanages and began to staff parochial schools. In 1846, the Sisters in New York incorporated as a separate entity from the Sisters of Charity based in Maryland. They set up a charity hospital to meet the demands of the poor and disadvantaged. It began as a thirty-bed hospital in a small brick house on East 13th Street. St. Vincent's served the poor as one of the few charity hospitals in New York City. The hospital opened on November 1, 1849, during a cholera epidemic under the direction of Sister M. Angela Hughes, sister of Bishop John Hughes. With almost every room occupied by patients, the sisters ate, slept, and rested in a single room or had their beds at the ends of the halls. A typhoid epidemic in 1852, filled the hospital to capacity. After outgrowing those quarters in 1856, the sisters moved to a former orphanage at the then undeveloped corner of West 11th Street and Seventh Avenue. In 1859, a fair was held at the
New York Crystal Palace New York Crystal Palace was an exhibition building constructed for the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in New York City in 1853, which was under the presidency of the mayor Jacob Aaron Westervelt. The building stood on a site behind the ...
to raise funds to renovate the former orphanage and erect two additional wings. In 1870, the hospital introduced its first horse-drawn ambulance. In October 1892, it launched its School of Nursing. The Sisters admitted patients regardless of religion or ability to pay. The doctors from Bellevue Hospital worked at the hospital. St. Vincent's also operated a soup kitchen. According to an 1892 ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' article, St. Vincent's was distinguished from other hospitals in the city by now for its large number of tramps and other destitute persons". The poet
Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyric poetry, lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted Feminism, feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. ...
got her middle name from the hospital, where her uncle's life was saved in 1892 after he was accidentally locked in the hold of a ship for several days without food or water.


20th century

The school received its certification from the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York in 1905, one of the first such schools to be so recognized. In 1911, St. Vincent's Ambulance, manned by hospital interns, responded to the
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, a borough of New York City, on Saturday, March 25, 1911, was the deadliest List of industrial disasters, industrial disaster in the history of the city, an ...
in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, where the attendants watched helplessly as those trapped in the fire jumped to their deaths onto the street below. In 1912, St. Vincent's received and treated victims after the sinking of the , while mourning the loss of attending physician Francis Norman O'Loughlin, who died in the disaster. A plaque honoring his memory stood in the hospital's main entrance as a reminder of his dedication and sacrifice. In 1968, under William Grace, Director of Medicine at St. Vincent's, and his associate John A. Chadbourn, the hospital established the nation's first Mobile Coronary Care Unit (MCCU) following an example in Ireland. It was configured on a white over red 1968 Chevrolet Step-Van and utilized a portable battery-powered defibrillator/monitor; a battery-powered electrocardiograph, I.V. kit, resuscitation/oxygen kit, and a drug kit. The success of the St. Vincent's MCCU project inspired the development of the "HeartMobile" in
Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
and similar programs in
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,
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, and
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in 1970. In 1975, the Puerto Rican extremist nationalist group FALN bombed
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in the
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area. St. Vincent's paramedics and responders from multiple other EMS agencies transported patients to St. Vincent's Hospital for trauma care. In the 1980s, as the gay population of
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and New York began succumbing to the AIDS virus, St. Vincent's established the first
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
ward on the East Coast and second only to one in San Francisco, and became "Ground Zero" for the AIDS-afflicted in NYC. The hospital "became synonymous" with care for AIDS patients in the 1980s, particularly poor gay men and drug users. It became one of the best hospitals in the state for AIDS care with a large research facility and dozens of doctors and nurses working on it.
ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...
protested at the hospital one night in the 1980s due to its Catholic nature. They took over the emergency room and covered crucifixes with condoms intending to raise awareness and to offend Catholics. Instead of pressing charges, the sisters who ran the hospital decided to meet with the protesters to better understand their concerns. One of the great physicians at the hospital was Dr. Ronal Ollstein. He pioneered burn surgery in New York City. First at Harlem Hospital and then at St. Vincents. He was known for his famous original surgical knot, dubbed The Ollstein "O". He died of cancer. (https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nytimes/name/ronald-ollstein-obituary?id=27134519https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nytimes/name/ronald-ollstein-obituary?id=27134519)


21st century

The SVCMC network was formed in 2000, when St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan, formerly the St. Vincent Hospital and Medical Center of New York, merged with the Catholic Medical Centers of
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
and Queens and Sisters of Charity Healthcare on
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...
, which included St. Vincent's Hospital (Staten Island), Mary Immaculate Hospital in Queens, St. John's Queens Hospital, Saint Joseph's Hospital in Queens, St. Mary's Hospital of Brooklyn, and Bayley Seton Hospital in Staten Island. The mergers were intended to reduce costs by improved efficiency and elimination reductant administration, however, it also brought increased debt with the member hospitals.Clarke, Kevin. "The Last Days Of St. Vincents: A venerable New York institution closes its doors.", ''America'', July 05, 2010
/ref> St. Vincent's was the primary admitting hospital for those injured in the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
on the World Trade Center. A physician who worked at St. Vincent's, Sneha Ann Philip, was declared missing on September 10, and later declared as the 2,751st victim of the collapse of the towers. Pictures of the missing collected in such large numbers that the hospital dedicated an entire outside wall to protect them. The Wall of Hope and Remembrance was maintained for years. Many of the hospitals closed after September 2001. In 2003 St. Clare's Hospital became an affiliate and was renamed St. Vincent's Hospital (Midtown), but it closed on August 1, 2007. St. Mary's Hospital of Brooklyn closed on September 23, 2005; Mary Immaculate and St. John's closed on March 1, 2009, after being sold to
Wyckoff Heights Medical Center Wyckoff Heights Medical Center is a 350-bed teaching and safety net hospital located in the Wyckoff Heights section of Bushwick, Brooklyn. The hospital is an academic affiliate of the Weill Cornell College of Medicine, the New York Medical Col ...
in 2006.


Closing

In 2005, under financial pressure from its charity involvements and rising costs, the SVCMC system filed for
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
. The system launched an aggressive reorganization effort, selling or transferring its money-losing facilities and focusing development on its main hospital, which allowed it to emerge from bankruptcy in the summer of 2007. In the name of modernizing and restructuring, it also announced plans to build a new Manhattan hospital across the street, with a planned opening set for 2011. Part of the redevelopment was to include construction of a billion-dollar residential condominium by the Rudin real estate family. The plan was a source of contention with several neighborhood groups, such as the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and the
Municipal Art Society The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) is a non-profit membership organization for preservation in New York City, which aims to encourage thoughtful planning and urban design and inclusive neighborhoods across the city. The organization was ...
. The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the residential components of the plan in July 2009, but by then residential development financing was no longer available because of the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.
. The New York State Department of Health has said there was no need for an acute care hospital in Greenwich Village. St. Vincent's announced on January 27, 2010, that its financial situation had soured further and desperate measures would be required to keep the hospital open. Senators, city council members and congressional representatives all became involved in attempting to save the hospital. A Greater New York Hospital Association spokesman pointed to health budget cuts in Albany. The hospital began discussions with Continuum Health Partners (the parent corporation of
Beth Israel Medical Center Mount Sinai Beth Israel was a 799-bed teaching hospital in Manhattan. It was part of the Mount Sinai Health System, a nonprofit health system formed in September 2013 by the merger of Continuum Health Partners and Mount Sinai Medical Center, and ...
, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary) and with Mount Sinai Hospital to consider taking ownership of the hospital but both declined. On April 6, 2010, the board of directors voted to close inpatient care services at St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center, and to sell its outpatient services to other systems. The emergency room stopped accepting ambulances on April 9, 2010, and delivered its last baby on April 15, 2010. On April 19, 2010, more than 1,000 staff, representing approximately one-third of the hospital workforce, received notice of lay-off. On April 14, 2010, St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan filed for
Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...
bankruptcy protection. The petition, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, showed liabilities of more than $1 billion. Saint Vincent's largest unsecured creditor was the
PBGC The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a United States federally chartered corporation created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to encourage the continuation and maintenance of voluntary private defined ...
which is a federal pension insurance agency that was insuring the "Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers Retirement Plan" which was a defined benefit pension plan. The pension plan on September 14, 2010, which was the date of termination for the plan had 9581 participants. On April 30, 2010, the emergency room at St. Vincent's closed, officially shuttering the hospital after 161 years. Hospital administrators said that the vote to close came after a six-month-long effort to save the financially troubled institution, but August 21, 2011, prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office were reported to have launched an investigation to determine whether administrators intentionally ran St. Vincent's into the ground. The remaining parts of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers including its nursing homes, home health agency, St. Vincent's Hospital Westchester, and U.S. Family Health Plan, were to continue to operate without interruption, but these entities were sold to other providers' systems.


Post-closure

In October 2011, the former main campus at 7-15 Seventh Avenue was sold to Rudin Management Company for $260 million.
CBRE Group CBRE Group, Inc. (an initialism of Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis) is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm with corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas and global financial headquarters at Lever House in Midtown Manh ...
represented the seller, Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers of New York. Eyal Ofer's Global Holdings assisted the buyer in the sale. At the time of its closure, St. Vincent's occupied a large real-estate footprint in Greenwich Village; it consisted of several hospital buildings and a number of outpatient facilities, had more than 1,000 affiliated physicians, including 70 full-time and 300 voluntary attending physicians, and trained more than 300 residents and fellows annually. As a Catholic hospital, St. Vincent's was officially sponsored by the
Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition alone, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (whose sisters are also of ...
and the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn The Diocese of Brooklyn () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state, State of New York (state), New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City borou ...
. St. Vincent's was the last Catholic general hospital in New York City. The St. Vincent de Paul stained glass window from the hospital was donated to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in
Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
Speaker
Christine Quinn Christine Callaghan Quinn (born July 25, 1966) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly served as the Speaker of the New York City Council. The third person to hold this office, she was the first female and fi ...
said that the plan also calls for a reduction in the number of new apartments, funds for affordable housing and arts education in local schools.


Medical education

SVCMC served as one of two academic medical centers of
New York Medical College New York Medical College (NYMC or New York Med) is a Private university, private medical school in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1860, it is a member of the Touro University System. NYMC offers advanced degrees through its three schools: the ...
. It offered a well-respected residency and fellowship program, and also served as a clerkship facility for students of medicine, nursing, physical therapy, and occupational therapy: ;Residencies :
Anesthesiology Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative medicine, perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critica ...
,
internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...
,
pediatrics Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many o ...
, family practice, combined internal medicine & pediatrics,
primary care Primary care is a model of health care that supports first-contact, accessible, continuous, comprehensive, and coordinated person-focused care. It aims to optimise population health and reduce disparities across the groups by ensuring equitable ...
,
neurology Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine) , medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous syst ...
,
neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system ...
,
nuclear medicine Nuclear medicine (nuclear radiology, nucleology), is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactivity, radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging is, in a sense, ''radiology done inside out'', ...
,
obstetrics and gynecology Obstetrics and gynaecology (also spelled as obstetrics and gynecology; abbreviated as Obst and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and t ...
,
ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...
,
orthopedics Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (American and British English spelling differences, alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgic ...
,
pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...
, PM&R,
psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...
,
child psychiatry Child and adolescent psychiatry (or pediatric psychiatry) is a branch of psychiatry that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders in children, adolescents, and their families. It investigates the biopsychosocial fact ...
,
radiology Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...
,
general surgery General surgery is a Surgical specialties, surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and Abdomen, abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, Appendix (anatomy ...
, transitional ;Fellowships :
Cardiology Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...
, critical care,
endocrinology Endocrinology (from ''endocrine system, endocrine'' + ''wikt:-logy#Suffix, -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the ...
,
gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- "belly", -énteron "intestine", and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, sometime ...
, interventional endoscopy,
geriatrics Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on addressing the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros'' mean ...
,
hematology Hematology (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to bloo ...
/
oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...
,
infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...
,
pulmonary The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syste ...
;Allied health programs : CPR,
advanced life support Advanced Life Support (ALS) is a set of life-saving protocols and skills that extend basic life support to further support the circulation and provide an open airway and adequate ventilation (breathing). Components Key aspects of ALS level care ...
, EMT,
paramedics A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained in the medical model, whose main role has historically been to respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. Paramedics work as part of the emergency medical services (EMS), m ...
,
nuclear medicine Nuclear medicine (nuclear radiology, nucleology), is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactivity, radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging is, in a sense, ''radiology done inside out'', ...
technology Medical staff residency training records and verifications have become available through the Federation Credentials Verification Service (FCVS) Closed Residency program records.


Former facilities


St. Vincent's Hospital, Manhattan

St. Vincent's Hospital was a 758-bed
tertiary care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delive ...
teaching hospital, at Seventh Avenue and Greenwich Avenue on the border of
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
and Chelsea. It included: *
Level I Trauma Center A trauma center, or trauma centre, is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major trauma, major traumatic injuries such as Falling (accident), falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. The term "tra ...
and Critical Care Center *Comprehensive Cardiovascular Center *Level III Neonatal ICU *The Pancreas & Biliary Center *Comprehensive Cancer Center (now Beth Israel Comprehensive Cancer Center West Side Campus) *Comprehensive HIV Center *Full service
emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the Acute (medicine), ...
*Inpatient and outpatient psychiatric and addiction services


Other

* St. Vincent's Hospital (Westchester), a 138-bed behavioral health facility, Harrison, NY (now part of St. Joseph's Medical Center,
Yonkers Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...
), including: **Behavior Health Residential Services, a 500-bed community housing and case management program based at Bayley Seton Staten Island, with units in the five boroughs and Westchester * Four
skilled nursing facilities A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...
including: ** Bishop Mugavero Center for Geriatric Care, Brooklyn ** Holy Family Home, Brooklyn ** St. Elizabeth Ann's Health Care & Rehabilitation Center, Staten Island ** Monsignor Fitzpatrick, Queens * Pax Christi Hospice, Staten Island *The Edward and Theresa O’Toole Medical Services Building, now Lenox Health Greenwich Village * SVCMC Home Health Agency, a comprehensive
home care Homecare (home care, in-home care, care at home), also known as domiciliary care, personal care, community care, or social care, is health care or supportive care provided in the individual home where the patient or client is living, generally focu ...
agency serving all five
boroughs of New York City The boroughs of New York City are the five major governmental districts that comprise New York City. They are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Each borough is coextensive with a respective Administrative divisions of ...
* Kennedy Medical Offices, a 24/7 urgent care and multi-speciality center located at JFK International Airport. The center was over 23,000 square feet and offered primary care, urgent care, occupational health services, radiology, orthopedics, optometry, psychology, physical & occupational therapy, pain management and other services. Kennedy Medical staff also provided 24/7 paramedic
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
state-certified first responder services to the Port Authority to supplement the PA Police EMS division. Kennedy Medical Offices treated dignitaries, politicians, Hollywood stars, and VIP's from around the world (including security details for the President of the U.S. and the Pope as well as heads of many other nations). * Several outpatient medical and substance abuse treatment centers in Manhattan,
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, Westchester, and
the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
.


Notable programs


St. Vincent's HIV Center

St. Vincent's was the epicenter of New York City's AIDS epidemic. It housed the first and largest AIDS ward on the east coast and is often referred to as the "ground zero" of the AIDS epidemic. As one of the first institutions to address and treat
HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...
and
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
in the 1980s, St. Vincent's HIV Center was one of the oldest, most experienced and most renowned HIV treatment programs in the US. It provided coordinated outpatient and inpatient primary care and case management services to HIV-positive adults, pregnant women, and children, and also provided HIV prevention services, AIDS education programs, HIV clinical research, and support groups. In addition, SVCMC developed the unique Airbridge Project, which coordinates care for HIV-positive patients who make frequent trips to
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
. Father Mychal Judge ministered to Catholics dying of AIDS in the early years of the epidemic.
Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Among his stage work, he is most known for ''Angels in America'', which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award, as well as its subsequent acclaime ...
features the hospital in his play ''
Angels in America ''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a 1991 American two-part Play (theatre), play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The two parts of the play, ''Millennium Approaches'' and ''Perestroika'', may be presented separate ...
'', and it is also alluded to by Larry Kramer in his play '' The Normal Heart''.


Chinese Outreach Program

Due to its proximity to
Chinatown, Manhattan Manhattan's Chinatown is a Neighborhoods in Manhattan, neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, bordering the Lower East Side to its east, Little Italy, Manhattan, Little Italy to its north, Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center to its s ...
, two miles away, SVCMC had close ties to the Chinese community throughout its history. In an effort to reach this underserved population, the hospital opened an independent Chinese-speaking inpatient unit, which employed physicians and nurses who spoke
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
and
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
. They also opened an outpatient facility in Chinatown, provided a free shuttle service from Chinatown to the hospital, and offered Chinese-focused healthcare services such as
Acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...
and Chinese traditional meals.


Cystic Fibrosis Program

One of the most comprehensive and renowned CF programs in the city, the Saint Vincent's
Cystic Fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...
therapy program offered care for patients with
cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...
and attracted patients from around the region.


Perinatal Hospice Center

The Perinatal Hospice was founded in 2007 to meet the needs of parents who have discovered early in pregnancy that their baby is nonviable outside the womb, and yet chose to carry their baby to term.


John J. Conley Department of Ethics

Closely linked to the
Bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...
Institute at
New York Medical College New York Medical College (NYMC or New York Med) is a Private university, private medical school in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1860, it is a member of the Touro University System. NYMC offers advanced degrees through its three schools: the ...
, The Conley Ethics Department was a leader in the study of clinical medical ethics and spirituality in healthcare. Chaired by Dr
Daniel Sulmasy
the department endeavored to integrate the
biopsychosocial model Biopsychosocial models (BPSM) are a class of trans-disciplinary models which look at the interconnection between biology, psychology, and socio- environmental factors. These models specifically examine how these aspects play a role in a range o ...
of healthcare within the SVCMC system.


Elizabeth Ann Seton Chapel

Because the hospital was founded and manned through much of its history by nuns, its hospital chapel was a primary focus of the hospital architecture, and was symbolically nested at the very center of the hospital. The chapel, named for St.
Elizabeth Ann Seton Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (August 28, 1774 – January 4, 1821) was an American Catholic Church, Catholic religious and educator, known as a founder of the country's parochial school system. Born in New York and reared as an Episcopalian, she ...
, offered daily Mass and refuge for patients and hospital staff.


Hospital Pet Care Program

Responding to the unique needs of an urban population, SVCMC instituted a program to help patients provide for their
pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/ cute appearances, inte ...
s during their stay in the hospital. Animals were walked or fed in a patient's home, or were relocated to care facilities or short-term foster homes.


Comprehensive Cancer Center

The Comprehensive Cancer Center provided prevention, diagnosis, treatment and recovery of a variety of malignancies, with a focus on preventing inpatient stays through careful outpatient monitoring. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and stem cell transplants were provided as day procedures along with 24-hour emergency care.


See also

*
St. Vincent (musician) Anne Erin Clark (born September 28, 1982), known professionally as St. Vincent, is an American musician, singer and songwriter. Her guitar playing has been praised for its melodic style and use of distortion, and she has been listed among the b ...


References


External links


''New York Times'' article on Saint Vincent's

''U.S. News & World Report'' article on SVCMC Healthcare in the Chinese community

Global Holdings - St. Vincents West Village

Levine, Mark. "St. Vincent’s Is the Lehman Brothers of Hospitals", ''New York Magazine'', October 17,2010
{{authority control Defunct hospitals in Manhattan Hospitals established in 1849 Hospitals disestablished in 2010 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 1849 establishments in New York (state) 2010 disestablishments in New York (state) Teaching hospitals in New York City New York Medical College Greenwich Village Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn Catholic hospitals in the United States Robert J. Reiley church buildings Schickel & Ditmars buildings Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan Buildings and structures demolished in 2012 Catholic hospital networks in the United States Catholic health care