Mount Sinai will shutter its Beth Israel campus in Manhattan due to mounting financial losses and dwindling inpatient volumes, a spokesperson for the hospital network said Thursday.
In a statement released Thursday morning, a Mount Sinai Health System spokesperson said the hospital at East 16th Street and First Avenue would reduce its inpatient bed count before gradually closing in the coming years.
Mount Sinai will review its options as it considers opening a smaller hospital in the area, the spokesperson said. The hospital network did not provide an exact timeline for the closure.
"After years of agonizing debate and analysis, the Mount Sinai Health System has made the difficult decision to begin the process of closing the 16th St. campus at Mount Sinai Beth Israel,” the spokesperson said. “This decision comes after recent financial changes, including significant increases in labor and supply costs, and years of decreasing inpatient census as care continues to move to outpatient and non-hospital settings.”
Beth Israel has sustained more than $1 billion in losses within the past decade in spite of “massive investments and upgrades,” the spokesperson said, adding that the hospital is on track to lose another $150 million this year.
“Maintaining the status quo is no longer an option. As a leading non-profit institution, we must take immediate steps to preserve our ability to continue providing healthcare services to the greater New York City community,” the spokesperson said. “While we will never abandon the downtown community, continuing to keep the MSBI 16th St. hospital open would jeopardize the mission of the Mount Sinai Health System.”
The spokesperson said the plan to close the Beth Israel campus will not impact the other sites operating under Beth Israel’s hospital license, including Mount Sinai Brooklyn, Mount Sinai Behavioral Health Center, Mount Sinai Union Square and other Beth Israel medical sites.
The behavior health beds at the recently opened Mount Sinai Behavior Health facility at Rivington and Mount Sinai’s downtown outpatient facilities will also be unaffected, according to the spokesperson.
Unionized staff impacted by the gradual closure will be offered positions with the same title and pay at other Mount Sinai sites, the spokesperson said.
The Beth Israel campus has struggled financially for years. In 2016, Mount Sinai Health System announced it would close the campus over the course of four years and replace it by opening a smaller hospital at East 14th Street and Second Avenue.
In 2021, however, Mount Sinai reversed its decision, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and the city's desperate need for hospital beds.