The Legacy of St. Vincent's Hospital for Trauma Recovery

Guidepoints November 2010

by Siobhan Joan Dolan and Shelly Menolascino

Saint Vincent’s Hospital in New York’s Greenwich Village closed its doors on April 30th, 2010, after struggling to stay afloat in the face of staggering debt.  Many hospital workers took to the streets in protest, recalling team work, enduring friendships and the bonds developed between the workers and the people in the community.

For more than 160 years the hospital was a cornerstone of lower Manhattan life serving the health needs of the lower west side community, where one quarter of the city’s population resides. Having worked in the hospital’s outpatient behavioral health department for many years, we can both attest to the outpatient level of care for people with mental health challenges. Particularly, we reflect with deep satisfaction on the implementation of the NADA protocol at St. Vincent’s Hospital.

Acu detox began in our outpatient addiction program in February 2001, growing to include the mentally ill chemically addicted clients in the continuing day treatment program. Jonathan Thaler, licensed acupuncturist and a long time NADA trainer, supervised the acu detox services for many years.

St. Vincent’s is known for its incredible response to the victims of the World Trade Center tragedy of 2001. Our pilot program - Ear Acupuncture Stress Reduction Clinic - began on September 12th to provide stress relief for anyone in NYC.  Within 3 weeks, over 1300 ear acupuncture treatments were given.  

Often the treatment helped people express their feelings and prepared them for counseling that was available in the adjoining gym.  For many others, ear acupuncture’s effect was complete in itself.  Rescue and recovery workers, survivors, family members, and residents of the lower Manhattan community shared that the acupuncture felt safe and helpful.  For many it was their first exposure to acupuncture.  Individuals described the effect of the 5 needles as calming, somehow providing a sense of great relief of sadness and fear, and clearly helping to restore sleep.  Perhaps our favorite quote was: "it felt as if someone hit the reset buttons".  This speaks to the capacity to enhance resilience.      

Meeting the ongoing demand for the NADA treatment post 9/11 would have been impossible without the support of the Lincoln Recovery Center cadre – Dr. Michael Smith, Carlos Alvarez, Jo Ann Lenney, the late Jesse Morgan, Priscilla Santiago, and many others, including additional volunteers completing their NADA training.  Other experienced practitioners generously offered energy work, massage and other holistic modalities.  

Due to the extraordinary number of visits, our pilot ear acupuncture clinic was seen as one of the largest outreach programs during the first few months after 9/11 (the acute trauma period). It was a proud moment for us when the American Red Cross added ear acupuncture to their list of 9/11 Mental Health and Substance Abuse Program reimbursable services based on the success at St. Vincent’s.  We see that as providing a model for future disaster response teams.

The hospital kept the services going for more than 6 years, though funding remained tied to trauma recovery funds.  When the World Trade Center Healing Services (WTCHS) Program was established in 2002 for ongoing counseling, the acupuncture clinic, renamed the Integrative Stress Management (ISM) Program, transferred in as an additional and vital component. More ear acupuncture clinics were pressed into service, starting with weekly clinics for staff at the 4 high schools that bordered Ground Zero. As the ear acupuncture program evolved, the help of NADA practitioners, particularly Wendy Henry and Jo Ann Lenny, helped to sustain this growth. Training was an essential aspect for strengthening the ISM Program. Laura Cooley, a long-time NADA activist and past NADA Board member, led a hospital-based training in 2002. ISM energy practitioners and our massage therapist became NADA trained, along with WTCHS social workers, which made program expansion possible.

In addition to the other clinics – in Chinatown, in Staten Island after the Ferry Crash, and at the WTCHS Program office near Ground Zero – ear acupuncture’s reach through the program extended past NYC.  It was a complementary tool for the medical and mental health trauma team sent to central Louisiana post Katrina, to ease stress for people in shelters and those waiting for medical care in hotel parking lots. A contract with the Wounded Warrior Project combined mental health support and ear acupuncture at workshops for young combat veterans in North Carolina at Camp Lejeune and outside Fort Bragg.  

Within the hospital itself, the influence of the NADA protocol through the behavioral health department likely softened the atmosphere for acupuncture to also find its place in HIV care, at the cancer center, and in physical rehab. When Red Cross funding came to an end for all 9/11 programs at the end of 2007, the ISM program also ended, having provided more than 40,000 ear acupuncture treatments to people needing relief.  

The unique feature of ear acupuncture as a post disaster tool at St. Vincent’s was its integration in a hospital based trauma treatment program. Considered a cornerstone treatment in a trauma recovery model with easy access to counseling, the NADA protocol had an extraordinary six year run after 9/11.

Now the hospital has shut down due to bankruptcy as well as to health world politics.  Many of the reasons for the hospital’s closing are complex and unclear.  Tragically, there is no emergency room to respond to the lower west side community’s critical needs. A coalition of activists has formed to demand answers about the closing process. The first rally of "100 Days Without A Hospital" took place on October 17th at the hospital's site with hundreds of impassioned neighbors speaking truth to power in solidarity.  In supporting the coalition, we look forward to contested closure issues being addressed, including the demand for restoring hospital emergency room services.

Despite the turmoil of this segment of “our” hospital’s history, we have welcomed the invitation to reflect on St Vincent’s legacy and the NADA protocol’s tremendous contribution to NYC in her time of need.

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