Assemblyman critical of wait times at Vassar Brothers Medical Center

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Vassar Brothers Medical Center

POUGHKEEPSIE – On November 14 a man with an infection in his appendix arrived at Vassar Brothers Medical Center (VBMC) at 10:45 a.m., escorted by his wife.  According to the wife, her husband was in substantial pain yet was not treated for nearly 12 hours, and only because she contacted a physician friend of hers to report the problem and the doctor intervened.

The patient’s wife said that the staff at VBMC told her that there were not any doctors available and the COVID pandemic had caused a nursing shortage, resulting in limited available staff.

The man was required to have surgery on the following day, after the infection was treated, according to his wife.

When told of the wait time experienced by the patient with the appendix infection, Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson said, “This beautiful building does not deliver healthcare without the workers that are here.”

Jacobson cited a national study that showed the health safety at Vassar Brothers received a “C” rating, due to a lack of staff.

“Safe staffing is quality healthcare and without that you have patients that are waiting to be treated in the emergency room and they are being kept in the hallway,” Jacobson said.  “I’m here to make sure that Vassar Brothers lives up to the new safe-staffing laws of the state.”

Claiming that the patients waiting to be seen in the emergency department were “treated like animals,” she said her husband “would have died from the infection and they did not rush anything.”




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