I am writing in response to Assemblywoman Janele Hyer Spencer’s recent public statements, concerning her role in working to keep Victory Memorial Hospital open.
Assemblywoman Spencer in her comments was responding to critics, who have said she has not done enough to keep Victory Memorial Hospital open. As a Bay Ridge resident, I have followed the news concerning Victory over the past year and this criticism of her record seems accurate.
Councilman Gentile, Congressman Fossella and Senator Golden have worked together, consistently, over the past year to convince the Department of Health that the closure of Victory is unwarranted and would endanger our community. This bi-partisan group of elected officials even joined together in a lawsuit to get statistics to show how overcrowded the emergency rooms of other hospitals are and how the closure of Victory would completely overburden them.
This data directly contradicted the claims of the state Department of Health which said other hospitals could absorb the ER patients of Victory when it closes.
Gentile, Fossella, and Golden have also worked closely with the hospital Board of Trustees and attended rallies with hospital staff and the community to urge the state administration to keep Victory open.
We must remember that a Democratic governor and administration implemented the decision to close Victory. The Democratic state administration in Albany appoints and controls the state Department of Health officials that are fighting to close Victory and denied an application from another hospital
