St. Vincent’s was founded in 1849, and served as the flagship of St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Centers of New York, and recorded $502 million in total revenue last year. Despite that, it also posted a net operating loss of $107 million, according to bankruptcy filings. Roughly 47% of the patients served by the emergency room in 2009 were either uninsured, on Medicaid, or on Medicare.

The 511-bed hospital began to see trouble in 2000, when the corporate owners merged with several other hospitals and nursing homes, leading to a financial deterioration and eventually bankruptcy in 2005. There was a restructuring plan that included more than $1 billion in outstanding unsecured liabilities, but the system never righted itself, and without a buyer, another bankruptcy was filed and closing became inevitable.

During its 160 years of operation, St. Vincent’s saw outbreaks of cholera and AIDS and, as the only level-1 trauma center on the lower west side of Manhattan, also helped many, many patients in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Source: Modern Healthcare