CBS NEWS
By Ali Bauman
October 10, 2025 / CBS New York
Manhattan paramedics are warning New Yorkers they may soon have to wait longer for an ambulance to arrive after an Upper East Side hospital made cuts to its fleet.
About a dozen paramedics at Northwell Health’s Lenox Hill Hospital received a letter Thursday stating their positions will be eliminated in 30 days “due to operational needs of the hospital.”
A spokesperson for Northwell Health, Barbara Osborn, told CBS News New York the decision followed “a comprehensive evaluation of our ambulance utilization and deployment within the FDNY EMS system” and “is intended to further optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations.”
“Less ambulances, longer response times”
The cuts amount to about 23% of the hospital’s total ambulance deployment.
“In one shift, you can do about 12, 15 calls,” Jahrodney Williams, one of the impacted paramedics, said. “Less ambulances, longer response times, unfortunately.”
Williams said the hospital “trying to count pennies and dollars over lives is gonna cost people.”
Lenox Hill, like many hospitals, has its own fleet of ambulances. The paramedics are hired by the hospital, but other than that, they operate basically the same as FDNY ambulances. They’re all dispatched by the same 911 system and can bring patients to whatever hospital is closest.
“Every EMT or paramedic that’s taken off the street is a longer response time,” said Michael Greco, vice president of Local 2507, the FDNY paramedics union.
“A chance that you’re waiting over an hour for an ambulance to come”
Greco says there are not enough FDNY EMTs to fill the gap.