Sanders Announces St. John's to Receive Remainder of Sandy Money

Senator James Sanders Jr. (D-Rochdale Village, Far Rockaway) today announced that St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway will soon get the remainder of its Hurricane Sandy Block Grant to cover the cost of caring for extra patients during and after the storm.

“Let me announce to you – for the longest time we have been fighting to get our money back from Sandy. It seems there was a discrepancy," Sanders said. "We put in for a certain amount and that check was much lighter coming back to us. The Governor has alerted me and the rest of my colleagues that the difference will be made up.”

The total Sandy Block Grant for St. John’s was $915,715. To date, $732.243 has been paid. The remaining balance, $180.472, has been cleared through two of three agencies and is scheduled to be released from the third and final, the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), soon.
 
St. John's serves more than 130,000 people on the peninsula annually. It has 240 beds, more than 400 physicians and 1,500 employees. It recently received $10.15 million from the New York State Department of Health to renovate and expand its emergency department in order to accommodate the growing number of patients that pass through its doors.

As a lifelong resident of Far Rockaway, Senator Sanders has long been an advocate for St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, fighting diligently to ensure that the facility gains access to the resources it needs to continue serving the community. This is particularly important when recognizing that it is the only hospital in the 10th Senatorial District and in all of Rockaway.

“This hospital and its staff encounter people every day who are in life or death situations and they did tremendous work following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy,” Sanders said. “Under those conditions it is only fair that the hospital be made whole, and get the full amount of funding to recoup its storm losses.”