Nanette Blaize and Faith Daniel are both healthcare advocates and lifelong Bronx residents, where health disparities and high rates of chronic illness have taken an outsized toll on primarily low income communities of color.

Both are calling attention to the backlog they say they’ve experienced since Montefiore Health System’s plan to consolidate primary care clinics took effect a month ago.

“We’re seeing pretty much three clinics being operated in two clinics, so we’re going to see the long wait times [and] we’re going to see staff being burnt out,” said Daniel.

What You Need To Know

  • The closing of a primary care clinic in the Bronx has some residents and advocates accusing Montefiore Health System of putting profits before patients

  • Montefiore closed it’s Grand Concourse clinic and consolidated operations at two remaining primary care sites in Williamsbridge and at the Family Health Center at Fordham Plaza

  • Advocates say the primary care clinic closure is hurting vulnerable Bronx communities

  • According to a state health equity report, the Bronx leads the city in rates of premature death

Looking ahead, Blaize fears what to come in a borough where, according to a state health equity report, the Bronx leads the city in rates of premature death.

“We’re constantly told about just how poor the health outcomes are in the Bronx, and for the life of me I cannot understand why, with that knowledge, our health systems continue to remove services from us,” said Blaize.

Montefiore closed its Grand Concourse clinic, with patients and providers reshuffled to two remaining primary care sites in Williamsbridge and at the Family Health Center at Fordham Plaza.

In a statement, Montefiore VP Matthew McDonough referred to the move as “transitions,” which he said “ensure our patients and community continue to have access to the highest quality care, while also ensuring our staff have access to resources and facilities to best support their needs.”

Health system officials also say that the Grand Concourse facility was suboptimal and described the other clinics as modern and state-of-the-art.

The Fordham facility in particular has more practitioners and more capacity, but Daniel says the move creates another major hurdle to access care.

“The impact is tremendous. I am a Monte patient myself and I’ve currently been on a waitlist for OB/GYN care for about four or five months,” said Daniel.

They’ve joined with other community advocates like Chhaya Chhoum of Mekong NYC who say Montefiore is putting profits ahead of patient care.

“The way that we think about profit [as] the mark of success in terms of how these hospital systems are looking at us, that’s not how it should be,” said Blaize.

But, Montefiore officials believe the move will improve care for the vulnerable communities it serves. Advocates say they’ll demand proof.

“We’re going to keep fighting,” said Daniel. “We’re going to be calling on Monte to be doing community health impact surveys, like what is the impact of this? How are patients really affected by this?”