Brooklyn VA Shutting Down Inpatient Unit

Brooklyn VA Hospital closing 25-bed inpatient unit in July
Staten Island Live
By Tracey Porpora
June 16, 2015

The move has 91-year-old Bay Terrace resident Jim Luzzi, a World War II Army veteran who received two Purple Hearts, concerned that there may not be bed available for him at the hospital if he needs one.

World War II veteran Jim Luzzi, 91, of Bay Terrace, holding a photo of himself in the U.S. Army.
(Staten Island Advance/Irving Silverstein)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y -- The VA New York Harbor Healthcare System has decided to close one of the inpatient units at its Brooklyn campus effective July 1.

The closure of the 25-bed wing will leave the VA hospital with two inpatient units, totaling 46 beds; a 10-bed intensive care unit, and a mental health unit, said Martina Parauda, director of VA New York Harbor Healthcare.

Parauda said the administration decided to close the wing due to a budget shortfall. The closure is expected to save $2 million, mostly in staff salaries, she added.

"With my management team, we pulled data and said, 'We don't want to cut any program we provide to veterans.' ... Last year when we looked at the occupancy rate on any given day, 65 percent of the 71 beds in the three units had a patient in them. ... And this year it's been 62 percent," she said.

"This tells me that I have the ability to not affect patient care, and still provide all the services on the inpatient side, as opposed to outpatient."

All employees currently assigned to the unit will be placed in other vacant positions; no employees will lose their jobs, she said.
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