The Downsizing of Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan

Beth Israel first opened 127 years ago. It is a hospital founded by immigrants to provide healthcare for immigrants and today is staffed by many immigrants.

" The sign welcoming patients at the main entrance of Mount Sinai Beth Israel on First Avenue is translated into Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Hebrew, a powerful testament to its immigrant heritage on the East Side of Manhattan.

In 1889, 40 Orthodox Jews who fled persecution in Russia and its surrounding countries collected 25 cents each to start a dispensary in a Lower East Side loft, according to hospital and New York Times archives. Beth Israel became a clinic on Henry Street, an inpatient hospital on East Broadway and then, three moves later, a bustling hospital off Stuyvesant Square where its employees speak languages as diverse as Thai and Twi (from Ghana)."

The new building will have only 70 beds, down from the current 825 beds, half of which are not in use. The 153 beds for mental health patients will remain in the new hospital.

The hospital was a kosher facility up until half a year ago. The neighborhood has changed tremendously over the years. Today most of the Jewish patients are not from Manhattan- they are rather mostly chassidim from Williamsburg.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!