BY GABE HERMAN | Lenox Health Greenwich Village came in for some mixed reviews at a Community Board 2 public forum in May about the stand-alone emergency department. But one grateful patient recently thanked paramedics from the facility for saving his life.
After Sam Swartz’s heart stopped on a scary day in 2018, two paramedics were able to shock him back to life while they were transporting him to Lenox Health Greenwich Village, at Seventh Ave. and W. 12th St. Swartz was one of six patients to thank Northwell Health E.M.S. first responders at a Northwell Health Second Chance Luncheon on May 22 at the company’s corporate headquarters in New Hyde Park, Long Island.
Swartz thanked paramedics Sonny Hodge and Christopher Foote, saying that he felt “very, very lucky to have had this crew that day.” He added of the paramedic pair, who brought him into the cardiac catheterization lab for a procedure once they reached Lenox Health, “I felt like we were all on the same team that day: We were all on team ‘me.’”
Swartz has had three separate cardiac-related issues.
“One day, I’ll figure out how I survived these events. But I know I couldn’t have done it without you,” he told the paramedics.
Lenox Health Greenwich Village opened five years ago at 30 Seventh Ave., between W. 12th and 13th Sts., across the street from the former St. Vincent’s Hospital main campus. The hospital closed in 2010.
The C.B. 2 Social Services Committee held a forum two months ago to get community feedback on the now five-year-old freestanding emergency department’s performance. Some local residents at the forum described good experiences at the facility, including with doctors and staff. Others, however, voiced strong dissatisfaction on issues like long waiting times to receive care and unexpectedly costly bills.
