A trauma hospital is 'urgently' needed in Rockaways, task force says

A trauma center is “urgently” needed in the Rockaways to handle severe injuries, for which patients are often transported off the peninsula, according to a new report released on Tuesday by a group assembled two years ago to study the issue.

The report by the Far Rockaway Trauma Healthcare Access Task Force — which was convened by City Councilmember Selvena Brooks-Powers, who represents the area — comes as the City Council is urging Mayor Eric Adams to include funding for a Far Rockaway trauma center in his upcoming budget, which is due to be finalized at the end of June.

But while the task force says the need is serious, it hasn’t laid out any specific plans for who would run such a hospital or what other services the facility might offer.

Since Peninsula Hospital closed in 2012, Far Rockaway has had just one hospital, St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, which lacks the certification to treat the most severe traumatic injuries.

The report analyzed 911 calls between October 2021 and September 2022 and found that there were more than 700 incidents that could require trauma care, including 150 car accidents and 57 gunshot wounds or stabbings.

Of the approximately 15,000 calls to 911, most patients were transported to St. John’s. But more than 1,000 were transported to other medical centers including Jamaica Hospital, Coney Island Hospital and Northwell Valley Stream. The report didn't include data on patient outcomes, but did cite survey responses from individuals who thought loved ones died because there wasn't a trauma center close by.

A broad coalition of local officials, union reps and health care leaders — including Dr. Mitchell Katz, president and CEO of NYC Health and Hospitals — assembled outside Brooks-Powers’ office in Far Rockaway on Tuesday to pressure Adams to include about $200 million in next year’s budget to build a trauma center on the peninsula. Katz and Brooks-Powers co-chaired the task force on the trauma center.

“We are fighting for time to save lives and reimagining our health care on this beautiful peninsula,” Brooks-Powers said at the rally. She referred to Detective Jonathan Diller, who died after being shot in Far Rockaway in March and taken 9 miles away to Jamaica Hospital.

Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association, also spoke at the rally.

“A life-saving trauma center is too far away,” he said. “When police officers and first responders race to a scene where someone is seriously injured, we know we're up against time and either it's a police officer or someone else.”

The report released on Tuesday indicated that most residents surveyed prefer that a new trauma center be free-standing, rather than an add-on to St. John’s, and the task force recommended it be located east of Beach 86th Street in an underserved, diverse and populous section of the peninsula.

But beyond that, the report made clear that there are still a lot of details to work out. Those include whether the hospital would be run by NYC Health and Hospitals or another network in the area.

“We're completely agnostic on who runs the facility,” Katz said. “It should be whoever has the best capability to do so.”

If the City Council gets the funding it has requested for the facility in the upcoming budget, it would still take about three to five years to open, Katz said. A hospital would still need to get approved and licensed by the state Department of Health, and there would be a location search and a bid for contractors before it could get up and running.

So far, Adams has left the funding out of his budget proposals for fiscal year 2025, which starts in July, and his office did not respond to a request for comment on the proposal on Tuesday. When the task force on the trauma center was first convened in 2022, he said he was open to the idea.

“We’re here to learn, listen and to ensure that we can accomplish the goals that the elected officials out here are requesting,” Adams said at the time.

The state health department declined to comment until paperwork is submitted to propose a hospital.