Once thought to be a pipe dream for Far Rockaway residents, a trauma center on the isolated peninsula has steadily come closer to becoming a reality \u2013 though state approval, which is required for the creation of a trauma center, remains a major hurdle. <\/p>\n
Last year, Brooks-Powers and the city identified a site for a future center in the Arverne section of the peninsula, and facilitated a land transfer so it could be developed. <\/p>\n
Now, locals are trying to claw the $200 million needed to begin construction. <\/p>\n
Former Mayor Eric Adams allocated $50 million for the construction in his last budget as mayor, and Menin\u2019s infusion this week brings the outstanding balance to $140 million. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe need a lot more,\u201d said Queens Councilmember Lynn Schulman, who chairs the Council\u2019s health committee and supports Brooks-Powers\u2019 efforts to secure the center. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a great start,\u201d the central Queens representative added during Tuesday\u2019s budget vote. <\/p>\n
Brooks-Powers also thanked Menin for the funding, but said that it \u201cdoes not lessen the need for tangible investments from the mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n
“The residents of the Rockaway peninsula deserve a trauma center that can provide care and save lives,\u201d said a Council spokesperson. \u201cSpeaker Menin was proud to work with Councilmember Brooks-Powers to secure an additional $10 million in the FY27 budget to support this vital project, but deeper investments are required. The Council looks forward to fighting for the necessary resources to provide the healthcare infrastructure that all New Yorkers deserve.”<\/p>\n
Rockaway residents have been calling for a trauma center to be built since Peninsula Hospital shuttered more than a decade ago. <\/p>\n
The closest trauma center to the Rockaways is Jamaica Hospital. In order to receive trauma care, Rockaway residents need to trek more than 40 minutes through the often-congested Van Wyck Expressway. Pediatric cases are often sent to Cohen Children’s Medical Center in Glen Oaks, which could take an hour to get to from parts of the peninsula. <\/p>\n
The issue was highlighted in March 2024 when Police Officer Jonathan Diller, who was shot on-duty in Far Rockaway, had to be brought to Jamaica Hospital to receive treatment. <\/p>\n
That was despite being shot just a few blocks away from Rockaway\u2019s only hospital, St. John\u2019s Episcopal, which does not have trauma treatment capabilities. <\/p>\n
Brooks-Powers and the task force she formed to lobby for the center have called for the highest level of trauma center \u2013 which they are unlikely to receive due to strict population requirements that the peninsula does not meet. However, the councilmember said it is likely that if the center is approved by the state, it would be designated as a level III center, but could be staffed at a higher level to account for Rockaway\u2019s isolation. <\/p>\n
City Hall did not respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Once thought to be a pipe dream for Far Rockaway residents, a trauma center on the isolated peninsula…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284235,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-284234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}