Tag Archives: Bellevue Hospital

Bellevue Hospital expands primary care

Bellevue CEO William Hicks; Dr. Andrew Wallach, clinical director of ambulatory care and the clinical chief of primary care at Bellevue; and other physicians at the ribbon cutting for the newly expanded primary care center (Photo courtesy of NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue Hospital)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Bellevue Hospital has announced that it is expanding adult primary care services in a newly-repurposed space, with the goal of having patients be able to get treatment for different issues in one location.

The hospital’s clinic, which had already been offering some primary care services on the ambulatory care building’s second floor, has expanded to add 12 patient exams rooms and increased the available space by 2,200 square feet for a total of 13,300 square feet. Bellevue CEO William Hicks said that the clinic was able to take over space that was previously occupied by the hospital’s World Trade Center health program, which has relocated to the hospital building of Bellevue.

Dr. Ted Long, who is the vice president of ambulatory care at Bellevue, said that the new space, as well as new processes in place at the clinic, will reduce wait times for patients looking to make an appointment. The average time for new patient appointments has already been reduced to 14 days from 40.

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Woman shot man on E. 27th St.: Cops

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police arrested a 36-year-old woman for allegedly attempting to kill a man in Kips Bay last weekend, injuring two people.

Shateka Whitfield allegedly fired a handgun at two people in front of 207 East 27th Street near Third Avenue on Friday, August 31 at 11:15 p.m. Police said that Whitfield shot a man in the chest, as well as a boy under the age of 17, who police said was not the intended target. One of the bullets reportedly grazed the boy’s knee, causing a minor injury.

Police said that the young victim whose knee was grazed by a bullet was taken to Bellevue Hospital but FDNY had no further information about the condition of either victim.

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Three people reported missing over the weekend

Police are asking for the public’s help in finding three people who were reported missing over the weekend.

Virginia Proto, 80, who lives in the East Village at 94 East 1st Street, was last seen on Saturday at 12:15 p.n. leaving a relative’s house at 308 Avenue U in Brooklyn. She is 5’5” tall, 130 pounds, with a light complexion, long red hair and brown eyes. She is believed to have an ID holder around her neck.

Paul Greenwald, 70, was last seen leaving Bellevue Hospital at 462 First Avenue on Saturday at 2 p.m. Greenwald, who is homeless, has blue eyes, gray hair, is approximately 6’0” tall, approximately 200 lbs. He was last wearing a red shirt, black pants, black sandals and white socks, with glasses on his forehead.

Nurys Herrand, 49, was last seen at her home at 617 East 9th Street, on Wednesday, August 8. She is white Hispanic, 5’03,” and 185 lbs. She was wearing a floral-print dress and black flipflops.

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Pols, Bellevue doctors push for speed camera legislation

Aug9 speed cameras Hoylman

State Senator Brad Hoylman blamed his own chamber for the camera shutoffs. (Photos by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Surgeons and local elected officials gathered at Bellevue Hospital last Thursday, urging the State Senate to pass legislation that would preserve speed cameras around schools.

Speed cameras in 120 school zones lost their ability to issue speeding violations last month because the State Senate did not extend the program by the July 25th deadline. Advocates at Bellevue were pushing Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan to call a special session so Senators could vote on legislation that has already passed in the Assembly, where it was sponsored by Assemblymember Deborah Glick.

Glick’s bill in the Assembly allows for speed cameras in 50 additional school zones a year for the next three years and extends the program through 2022. Democrats had originally proposed expanding the program to 750 school zones but said they reduced the number to appease Republicans.

“We reduced the number of cameras and reduced the radius the cameras cover,” Glick said. “We added signage so people know that there are cameras. We’ve given so much deference to speeders. We could give at least a modicum of the same concern for school children.”

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Police Watch: ACS teen charged with robbery, Suspect caught in cell phone snatching

ACS TEEN CHARGED WITH ROBBERY
Police arrested 18-year-old Rayshawn Weir for an alleged robbery inside the Administration for Children’s Services facility at 492 First Avenue on Wednesday, June 20 at 9:20 p.m. Police said that earlier that day, Weir snatched a man’s cell phone at East 20th Street and Second Avenue and physically shoved him. The victim, a man in his 30s, was not seriously injured and police caught up with Weir at the facility, where he is a resident.

SUSPECT CAUGHT IN CELL PHONE SNATCHING
Police arrested 20-year-old Josiah Butts for alleged grand larceny and theft in front of 37 West 23rd Street on Monday, June 18 at 12:43 p.m. Police said that Butts grabbed the victim’s cell phone out of her hands while she was standing on the sidewalk. Police searched the area around the southeast corner of West 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue immediately after the incident and the victim positively identified Butts as the person who had taken her cell phone.

STORE EMPLOYEE ACCUSED OF STEALING LAPTOPS
Police arrested a 36-year-old man for alleged grand larceny and possession of stolen property on Tuesday, June 19 at 3:18 p.m. Police said that Shannon Jex stole laptops from Mike’s Tech Shop at 120 West 20th Street on March 2 and June 16. Jex reportedly stole 12 laptops in March and allegedly sold them on Craigslist and police said that Jex also stole a Macbook Pro from the store in June. He was also allegedly in possession of small baggies of alleged cocaine when he was arrested and was charged with possession of a controlled substance.

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Police Watch: Man charged with groping woman, punching her boyfriend

MAN CHARGED WITH GROPING WOMAN, PUNCHING HER BOYFRIEND
Police arrested 24-year-old Thomas Dardia for alleged assault and sexual abuse in front of 55 West 21st Street on Sunday, May 6 at 12:27 a.m. The victim told police that Dardia grabbed her crotch from behind outside her pants, then allegedly punched her in the face. Dardia was charged with an additional assault after he allegedly punched the victim’s boyfriend, causing an abrasion under his right eye.

TEEN ARRESTED FOR ASSAULT ON THIRD AVENUE
Police arrested a teenager for assaulting a female victim in front of the Gem Saloon at 375 Third Avenue on Monday, April 30 at 5:44 p.m. Police said that four suspects punched and kicked the victim, causing pain and swelling to her face and abdomen, as well as bleeding to her nose. Police searched the area and one suspect was arrested, but no further information was available about the other three.

MAN ACCUSED OF ASSAULTING WOMAN ON 25TH STREET
Police arrested 29-year-old Tyrel Henderson for an alleged assault in front of 125 West 25th Street on Tuesday, May 1 at 8:52 a.m. The victim told police that she was walking to work when she crossed paths with Henderson, who allegedly punched her under her chin, causing her to drop her coffee and fall out the ground. The victim said that Henderson then walked away, and told police that she had substantial pain under her chin and on her buttocks from falling to the ground.
Police said that while reviewing surveillance video, Henderson could also be seen cutting a curtain at the location with an unknown object, walking away and returning a few minutes later and cutting a second curtain. Henderson was also charged with criminal mischief.

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Two suspects arrested for potentially bias-related assaults in Union Square

Suspect Willie Ames

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police arrested two men in the last week in unrelated incidents in Union Square after their alleged erratic behavior landed victims in the hospital.

Willie Ames, 47, was collared last Thursday for allegedly pushing a construction worker into the subway tracks at the Union Square station after making derogatory comments about his ethnicity earlier last month, and the New York Post noted that 34-year-old Anthony Powell was arrested this past Sunday night after he allegedly caused a panic at the Union Square Regal movie theater, reportedly strangling one of the people who was attempting to flee.

Police said that Ames, who was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat during the incident in the subway station, began harassing two men of Mexican descent while they were on an uptown train that was heading towards Union Square on April 20 around 8:15 p.m. Ames allegedly turned to one of the men and said, “You guys come here to take our jobs and you bring drugs. F—king Mexicans, you people are dirty, you people are nasty.”

Once the train pulled into the station, Ames allegedly grabbed one of the men, who the New York Daily News identified as Luis Lopez, pulling him off the train and onto the platform at Union Square. The district attorney’s office said that Ames punched Lopez in the face three times and pushed him onto the subway tracks, causing a cut on his head that required staples to his scalp.

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Bellevue fighting to delay federal healthcare cuts

State Senator Brad Hoylman said he doubted his colleagues would support a increase in reimbursements to cover inflation. (Photos by Sabina Mollot)

By Sabina Mollot

Bellevue Hospital, along with all the other facilities that are part of the city’s public NYC Health + Hospitals network, are bracing for the impact of an expected loss in federal funding in the next couple of years.

The cuts have loomed on the horizon since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010. Hospitals including H+H had been receiving Disproportionate Share Hospital or DSH funding for uninsured and Medicaid patients, but when the ACA went into effect, the thinking in Washington was that hospitals wouldn’t continue to need it due to more people being covered.

However, as Bridgette Ingraham-Roberts, associate vice president for government and community relations and planning for H+H, told hospital staff and supporters on Friday, 1.1 million New Yorkers are still uninsured and H+H serves around 415,000 uninsured patients. (Together, there are about 700,000 uninsured and Medicaid recipients in the health system.)

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Kips Bay man, 83, dies after being hit by car

Mar8 343 E 30th

343 East 30th Street (Photo via Google Maps)

By Sabina Mollot

On Thursday, an elderly Kips Bay man died after being hit by a car as he crossed the street a day earlier.

The victim, later identified as Gilberto DiBernardo, 83, had been crossing the street Wednesday afternoon on Second Avenue and East 30th Street when he was struck by a driver in a Chevrolet Silverado. DiBernardo, who lived nearby at 343 East 30th Street, was taken to Bellevue Hospital.

According to police, the 53-year-old driver, who was going south, had a steady green traffic signal when DiBernardo was attempting to cross Second Avenue from east to west in the crosswalk. The driver told police he tried to stop the car from hitting DiBernardo, but was unable to do so, and he was knocked to the pavement. The driver remained at the scene and wasn’t arrested. Police later said no criminality is suspected.

Flu cases double at Bellevue, Doctors say: Just get the shot

Bellevue Hospital offers the flu vaccine free to New Yorkers without insurance or who are under-insured throughout flu season.

By Sabina Mollot

Over 5,000 New Yorkers have become bedridden with the flu this season, according to Senator Charles Schumer.

Calling it a “historic outbreak,” on Monday, Schumer called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to designate a special “domestic flu surveillance team” for the state, which he believes will help “augment the work of inundated hospitals and budget-strained localities.”

Locally, the increase is being seen at Bellevue Hospital, where doctors have already seen 200 patients with confirmed cases of the flu, up from 100 for the entire season last year. Out of the 200 positive tests, 60 people were admitted to the hospital, while the rest went home. In a typical season, 100 people come in with the flu and 20-40 get admitted.

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Police Watch: Suspect arrested for Kips Bay mugging, Teen busted for lewdness

SUSPECT ARRESTED FOR VIOLENT MUGGING IN KIPS BAY LAST YEAR
Police arrested 22-year-old Jonathan Rivera last Thursday for a robbery that allegedly took place at the corner of East 29th Street and First Avenue last November 22. Police said that Rivera, along with two other people who weren’t arrested, punched the victim several times and broke his eyeglasses before swiping his Beats headphones and fleeing.

TEEN ARRESTED FOR LEWDNESS AT WASHINGTON IRVING
Police arrested a teenager for public lewdness inside the Washington Irving Campus at 345 East 15th Street last Friday at 4:08 p.m. Police said that the teen pulled down his pants and exposed himself to a female student inside the school. The teen’s name is being withheld due to his young age.

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR THEFT ALSO CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED BANK ROBBERY
Police charged a 35-year-old woman with a 2015 attempted bank robbery in the Lower East Side last Wednesday after she was arrested for an alleged grand larceny and possession of stolen property.
Police said that Sheena Bellinger was employed by the MADE Hotel at 44 West 29th Street and while she was working on November 2, 2017, she allegedly took someone’s wallet containing a debit card, MetroCard and ID that had been left on a bar stool. After she was in custody for the theft, police found through further investigation that she allegedly tried to rob an HSBC at 307 Grand Street on Wednesday, July 29, 2015 at 4:08 p.m. She allegedly passed the teller a demand note underneath a black plastic bag but the teller didn’t comply with the request and Bellinger allegedly fled the scene with the note.

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Soapbox: A PCV employee saved my life

By David Chowes

On Tuesday, October 24 at 4 p.m., I was alone in my apartment; I was trying to find a particular magazine from a large stack in my bedroom. Having fallen 10 years ago, my balance continued to be affected.

As I bent down, attempting to find this publication, within about one-tenth of a second I fell and everything in the room seemed to explode. Somehow the box-spring ended up on top of the mattress and the blanket and bed cover seemed to disappear.

I tried to get up – but in vain! I was on the carpeted floor and tried to get my bearing – and having hurt my right shoulder I was in continuous and excruciating pain.

But no matter how much effort I made, I just crawled and added to my misery.

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Police Watch: BI employee arrested for theft, Shoplifting suspect busted for fake gun

BETH ISRAEL EMPLOYEE ACCUSED OF THEFT FROM HOSPITAL BATHROOM
Police arrested 46-year-old Alexis Vasquez for alleged grand larceny in front of Mount Sinai Beth Israel at 288 First Avenue last Thursday at 5:09 p.m. Police said that Vasquez stole the victim’s purse, which contained her credit cards and cash, from the hospital’s bathroom. The victim told police that she had left her bag in the bathroom by mistake and Vasquez was allegedly the next person to go into the bathroom after the victim. Police said that Vasquez is a manager in the cafeteria at the hospital and allegedly admitted to police that he took the purse. Vasquez was also charged with possession of stolen property.

SHOPLIFTING SUSPECT ARRESTED FOR FAKE GUN ON EAST 23RD
Police arrested 59-year-old Richard James for alleged weapons possession inside 6 East 23rd Street, which is home to Outlette jewelry shop, last Friday at 1 p.m. Police said that an employee at the store saw James taking items from a display shelf and concealing them and allegedly attempted to leave without paying.
After he was stopped, police found that he was in possession of an imitation firearm that was tucked in his waistband. Police also recovered alleged heroin that was stamped with “Starbucks” as well as alleged hydrocodone bitartrate. James was also arrested for petit larceny, possession of stolen property and possession of a controlled substance.

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Police Watch: Bomb threat at Sony building, Man arrested for weapon at Bellevue

MAN CHARGED WITH MAKING BOMB THREAT, KICKING WOMAN IN SEPARATE INCIDENTS
Police arrested a man in Union Square last Monday for an alleged bomb threat inside the Sony building at 25 Madison Avenue over the summer. He was caught by police after allegedly attacking a woman on a train in Harlem.
Police said that 35-year-old Sherman Tolbert went inside the Sony building lobby on July 20 at 11:30 a.m. and shouted “bomb!” multiple times, then allegedly left three letters with the word “bomb” and signed his name. Police said that Tolbert went back to the building’s lobby about 25 minutes later and shouted “bomb!” again multiple times, causing panic and alarm.
Tolbert was arrested last Monday at 4:50 p.m. after he allegedly kicked a woman on her hand as they were on a train at the 4/5/6 station at Lexington Avenue and East 125th Street. Police apprehended him when the train pulled into Union Square.

MAN ARRESTED FOR WEAPON AT BELLEVUE
Police arrested a 41-year-old John Doe for weapons possession inside Bellevue Hospital at 462 First Avenue last Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Police said that they were responding to reports of an emotionally disturbed person in the Sixth Precinct and when they arrived, the man was holding spackling tools. Police told him to put the tools down but he reportedly refused and was arrested. When police were attempting to restrain him in the hospital bed, the suspect reportedly jerked his arm in a way that injured one of the officers.

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Police Watch: Gunpoint robbery at Pinkberry, Teen arrested for groping classmate

One of two robbery suspects

TWO MEN WANTED FOR GUNPOINT ROBBERY AT PINKBERRY
Cops are looking for two men believed to be behind a gunpoint robbery at a Pinkberry near West 14th Street.
Police said that the suspects turned a gun on employees at a Pinkberry at 523 Sixth Avenue last Wednesday and ordered them to the back of the shop. The men assaulted the employees, forced them to open the safe and remove $1,600 in cash as well as their personal property. The suspects then fled south on Sixth Avenue and the victims were taken to Lenox Hill Hospital to be treated for bruising and cuts. The first suspect is a black man who was wearing a jacket with a hood and a backpack and the second suspect is a Hispanic man who was wearing a jacket with a red symbol on it.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

TEEN ARRESTED FOR GROPING CLASSMATE
Police arrested a teenager for sexual abuse inside the Washington Irving building at 40 Irving Place last Wednesday at 12:59 p.m. The victim told police that while she was standing on the platform in Union Square waiting for a Queens-bound N train two days earlier, the suspect forcibly kissed her, as well as groped her breasts and vagina over her clothing. She told police that she repeatedly asked him to stop but he continued to grope her on and off for the entire ride into Queens. Police said that the victim and the suspect knew each other and are both students of a school at the Washington Irving campus. The suspect’s name is being withheld because of his age.
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