NYU’s emergency room gave special treatment to donors and VIPs including Chuck Schumer
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The New York University hospital emergency room has been accused of providing special treatment to known donors, including the man named after him, as well as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
NYU Langone Health’s ER reportedly uses a room known only as Room 20, which is intended for the highest priority patients in terms of health, but ended up being used by those with more money or fame.
At least 30 doctors claimed there was at least one implication that the wealthy and well-connected would be treated with the utmost importance.
Supposedly one of the beneficiaries has been Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, after whom the hospital is named.
The New York University hospital emergency room has been accused of providing special treatment to known donors, including the man named after him, as well as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
He was reportedly taken to high-priority Ward 20 for a simple stomach ache. Langone has denied requesting or receiving special treatment.
According to the New York Timesa well-known hospital trustee was taken to room 20 simply because he was out of breath after exercising.
VIPs were said to have first choice over the poor and homeless, who were sometimes even sent to a nearby public hospital, according to ambulance workers.
A nurse at that hospital, Bellevue, Kim Behrens, said, “Not a day goes by that we don’t have an NYU dumpster.”
In Schumer’s case, he and his wife, Iris Weinshall, were once sent to Room 20 when Weinshall, herself director of operations for the New York Public Library, was out of breath.
According to the report, both were given accelerated tests for COVID-19 while the sickest patients were treated in the hallway.
A Schumer spokesman said his security protocol requires that he be kept in as secure a location as possible.
One of the beneficiaries has reportedly been Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, after whom the hospital is named.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also received priority treatment.
VIPs were said to have first choice over the poor and homeless, who were sometimes even sent to a nearby public hospital, according to ambulance workers.
In Schumer’s case, he and his wife, Iris Weinshall, were once sent to Room 20 when Weinshall, herself director of operations for the New York Public Library, was out of breath.
Other university representatives argued that some of those quoted in the article were doing so out of spite for not getting a job.
The hospital could face trouble getting approval from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education due to the controversy.
They sent a letter to the hospital with allegations that the system “teaches residents patient bias” in November 2021.
The council, which interviewed 50 doctors on its own before sending the letter, oversees medical training programs across the United States.
They wrote the letter after receiving an anonymous complaint and after their interviews, which reportedly confirmed that doctors were not only treating VIPs favorably, but that some doctors had been fired or feared retaliation if they didn’t follow the informal policy.
The hospital could face trouble getting approval from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education due to the controversy.
The council, which interviewed 50 doctors on its own before sending the letter, oversees medical training programs across the United States.
The council told The Times it was unclear whether NYU had reformed since it sent the letter.
An NYU spokesperson said: “We disagree with the allegations made in today’s article, as they are based on completely fabricated and distorted allegations from sources with an agenda.”
They added: ‘NYU Langone Health provides a first-class standard of care to every patient who walks through our doors, and the article seeks to undermine the great work our care teams diligently do every day to save lives regardless of race, gender , ethnicity, religion, status or wealth.’