Pending closure of beloved Queens health care facility upsets community members
For his COPD and other health issues, Rockaway resident David Paller relies on the Neponsit Adult Day Health Care center, a medical-model facility with group activities, hot meals, and support for conditions including Alzheimer's and incontinence.
"It's a family. It's connections. They have a nurse on premises, a physical therapist on premises," Paller said.
"This keeps people out of nursing homes, and they help maintain their dignity," Paller's friend and health care proxy Jeanmarie Fitsch said.
But it may not be an option much longer.
NYC Health + Hospitals may soon close the center
The New York City Health + Hospitals Corporation, the largest municipal health system in the country, has announced plans to close Neponsit as soon as this month, citing low demand. NYC Health + Hospitals says the center has a capacity of 50 but only sees an average of 15 registrants daily.
Andrew Falzon says Neponsit enriched and sustained the life of his late father, who got support for his dementia at Neponsit in his final years.
"The impact to the community is going to be entirely devastating," he said. "This program is a crown jewel for HHC, so they should be lauding it and trying to support it instead of trying to shut it down."
He argues NYC Health + Hospitals has suppressed attendance there by restricting admissions and insurance coverage.
"The decision to close a facility is never an easy one"
NYC Health + Hospitals did not address CBS News New York's questions about admissions but said in a statement:
"The decision to close a facility is never an easy one, and our focus is on the handful of registrants who remain part of the program. We continue to connect current registrants and their families to other providers and identify alternative day care programs or other specialized programs that will meet their needs. We will have dedicated social work services to support appropriate discharge and provide consistent communication with everyone involved."
Fitsch says the peninsula is already underserved. She says Paller would have to travel to Canarsie for comparable care.
"When you have poor endurance and respiratory compromise, you cannot be on a bus traveling 40 minutes for a medical day care," she said.
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