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ST09-09-095 |
September 01, 2009 |
Contact: Press
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(212) 669-3747 |
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THOMPSON STATEMENT ON STATE GRANTS TO KEEP SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CLINICS OPEN |
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View Letter
New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today issued the following statement in response to Governor David Paterson’s allocation of $300,000 in grants to keep four school-based clinics open in the Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, and Park Slope sections of Brooklyn.
I am very pleased that Governor Paterson has taken the necessary steps to ensure that these school-based health clinics, which serve thousands of children and their families in Brooklyn, will remain open. The closure of these clinics at this time would have been unsafe.
These four clinics provide essential healthcare for students and their families, many of whom lack access to treatment in other settings. Furthermore, school-based clinics will have a critical role to play as potential A/H1N1 outbreak looms in both assessing students with flu-like symptoms and administering the vaccine, which is expected to be available in the fall.
However, it is notable that neither Mayor Bloomberg nor Chancellor Joel Klein advocated publicly for these clinics to remain open. It is vital that the City recognize that school-based clinics play a pivotal role in addressing general health needs of our City’s children and, this year in particular, will help reduce the number of students and staff affected by the A/H1N1.
Earlier this week, Thompson wrote to the Governor to ask him to take immediate action to ensure that these four school-based clinics receive the necessary resources and sponsorship to remain open. Thompson’s letter is available at www.comptroller.nyc.gov.
The four clinics serve PS 146, MS 448, IS/HS The School for Global Studies and The School for International Studies, PS 38, and MS 51: a total of six schools. According to the City Department of Health, approximately 2,000 students enrolled with the clinics and made approximately 4,000 visits annually.
The four clinics had been operated by Long Island College Hospital (LICH) under contract with New York State. LICH sought permission from the State Department of Health to terminate its agreement for the 2008-2009 school year – a plan that was subsequently denied. Although services were maintained by LICH during the last school year, LICH has been allowed to end its contract two years early.
In June, Thompson released a report describing how the recent closure of two hospitals in Queens was leading to overcrowding in the remaining nearby emergency rooms. The report, Closures of St. John’s and Mary Immaculate Hospitals Are Overwhelming Remaining Emergency Rooms; Emergence of H1N1 Virus Causing ER Crisis in Queens, is available at www.comptroller.nyc.gov.
Additional news available at www.comptroller.nyc.gov
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New York City Comptroller’s Office press@comptroller.nyc.gov / Main: (212) 669-3747 / Fax: (212) 669-8879
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