Dr. Kenneth Davis, Mount Sinai president and chief executive, and a number of the health system's wealthy benefactors, including billionaire Carl Icahn, took over Thursday morning's episode of CNBC's Squawk Box, with Davis addressing issues ranging from single-payer ("It's very unlikely") to Zika virus ("This is a scary time").
The appearance came two weeks after Mount Sinai announced it would move its Beth Israel campus, slash its bed count from 825 to 70, but leave intact 153 psychiatric and behavioral-health beds at Bernstein Pavilion.
The health system's public announcement, after weeks of speculation, stoked fears that Mount Sinai was abandoning the Lower East Side, despite arguments from Davis pointing to 16 physician practices and clinics with about 600 doctors.
This week, Mount Sinai took action into its own hands. It sent a letter to lower Manhattan residents outlining "plans to invest $500 million to create the new Mount Sinai Downtown."
"We want to reassure the community that Mount Sinai Beth Israel remains open for business and looks forward to continuing to provide health care for residents of the downtown community," the letter read.
In an interview last week with WNYC's Brian Lehrer, Davis denied the suggestion that the Beth Israel plan was a real estate play, after Crain's reported it is marketing a residence hall for about $80 million.
"We are a populist organization that believes in affordable housing," Davis said. "We're not going to do anything that's not in the community's interest."
Sixty-two percent of the system's patients pay through Medicare or Medicaid.
But as Mount Sinai's billionaire trustees praised the health system amid market musings on CNBC's Wall Street morning show, it is possible that the desired populist message was lost.
During the two-hour morning show, Davis guest-hosted as he described Mount Sinai's strategy of shifting toward population health and taking on more risk for its patients. The show featured appearances from financiers who have donated to Mount Sinai, including billionaire Glenn Dubin, the co-founder of hedge fund Highbridge Capital, who appeared alongside Davis to discuss the Dubin Breast Center. Dubin and his wife, Dr. Eva Andersson, donated about $16 million to establish the center, which opened in 2011 and has accommodated 100,000 patient visits.
Carl Icahn then dialed into the show by phone to discuss the markets as well as Mount Sinai. The activist investor, whose name adorns Mount Sinai's medical school, gave Davis a strong endorsement.
Icahn, who has donated more than $200 million to Mount Sinai, described having an influential role in naming Davis as chief executive in 2003.
"I said to the search committee, 'Your search is over. This is the guy,'" Icahn said. "Ken's done a great job. That's why I gave them a lot of money."
“I think the city owes him a debt of gratitude,” Icahn added.
Later Thursday, a joint meeting of Manhattan Community Boards 3 and 6 were held to discuss Mount Sinai Beth Israel. Mount Sinai community affairs representatives Brad Beckstrom and Brad Korn explained the many components of the health system's plan and answered residents' questions during an at times heated two-hour session.
They said Beth Israel is in discussions with a Brooklyn hospital, which would take over about half of the hospital's newborn deliveries and obstetrics patients. Many Beth Israel obstetrics patients commute to the hospital from Brooklyn, they argued. That plan is opposed by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, who attended the meeting.
During the meeting, community members expressed skepticism that Mount Sinai could adequately serve the community with fewer inpatient beds. They feared longer wait times, or the need to seek care outside the community. Alysha Lewis-Coleman, a member of Community Board 3, described a poor experience she had at Beth Israel several years ago.
Asked by Mount Sinai representatives if she still had those problems, she answered, "I don't have those issues anymore, because I don't go there."
"With Carl Icahn's support, Mount Sinai chief assures the public that it is committed to lower Manhattan" originally appeared in Crain's New York Business.
