NEW YORK (CNS) -- The last surviving Catholic general hospital in New York is enmeshed in a struggle to keep its doors open and fulfill its mandate to serve the sick poor.

St. Vincent's Hospital, a 160-year-old fixture of Manhattan's Greenwich Village neighborhood, is the flagship operation of debt-burdened St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, which is sponsored by the Sisters of Charity and the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Sister Jane Iannucelli, a Sister of Charity who is vice chairwoman of the medical centers, told Catholic News Service the hospital has been a leader in caring for the neediest and "people no one else wanted," from 19th-century cholera victims to early AIDS sufferers who were "left on our loading dock."

More recently, the hospital earned acclaim and headlines with its care for survivors of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and passengers plucked from the Hudson River after US Airways Flight 1549 landed there Jan. 15, 2009.

Sister Jane said the mission of the Sisters of Charity is to reveal God's love as a share in the mission of Jesus. That is expressed at St. Vincent's by caring for the sick poor and people with the greatest needs, she said.

Reflecting on hospital namesake St. Vincent de Paul and Sisters of Charity founder St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Sister Jane said, "Those who have been leaders in living the mission have always gone where the need is greatest."

St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers carries $700 million of debt inherited after St. Vincent's Hospital merged in 2000 with seven other Catholic hospitals in the metropolitan area. When most of the other facilities were closed or sold over the last decade, St. Vincent's was left with legacy debt from the divested hospitals. It sought bankruptcy protection in 2005 and emerged from bankruptcy in 2007. It lost $80 million last year.

Henry J. Amoroso, president and CEO of St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, attributed the organization's current financial crisis to "eight separate budget cuts from New York state over the last two years and the worst recession in many decades." He said in a statement St. Vincent's Hospital is working with its lenders to resolve its financial challenges.

In late January, Continuum Health Partners, a New York hospital system, made a proposal to the St. Vincent centers' board to take over the hospital and turn it into an outpatient treatment center, eliminating inpatient beds and most emergency services.

On Jan. 30, St. Vincent named a Chief Restructuring Officer, Mark E. Toney, from Grant Thornton LLP, to help return the institution to fiscal solvency. St. Vincent chairman Alfred E. Smith IV said in a statement that Grant Thornton would "steer our venerable institution through what is sure to be a difficult process so we can emerge as a provider of quality health care."

To make its payroll this week, the hospital borrowed $2 million from GE Capital and $6 million from a New York state-administered hospital restructuring program.

After a meeting Feb. 3 with hospital leadership, commercial lenders and local officials, New York Gov. David Paterson announced the formation of a task force that will have four weeks to suggest ways to keep the hospital open.

Keeping St. Vincent's Hospital open has emerged as a cause with proponents including church leaders, state and local officials, former patients, neighbors and current employees.

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn and Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York issued statements supporting St. Vincent's.

Dr. George Mussalli, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at St. Vincent's, is one of the doctors behind a blog called "SaveStVincents." He told CNS the blog is an independent effort to raise awareness about the hospital's situation and recruit like-minded people to help.

He said the future of the hospital is "largely in the hands of the governor. If there's a political will, it will stay open."

Mussalli said if St. Vincent's Hospital closed, the impact would be felt throughout New York City. "The loss of the hospital absolutely will cost lives," he said.

Other hospitals would be challenged to treat the number of patients and types of conditions St. Vincent's addresses. "We're the No. 1 trauma center in New York, not just in the number of ambulances, but in the types of care," he said.

Mussalli said there are 1,800 births at St. Vincent's each year and the hospital is equipped to serve more mothers in the future. "As I speak to (my counterparts) at other Manhattan hospitals, they tell me they're bursting at the seams. How does a city absorb 1,800 more deliveries when other sites are already over capacity?" he asked.

Mussalli said, "We do obstetrical care at St. Vincent's somewhat differently from our colleagues. We have one of the lowest rates of Caesarean births around." He said other hospitals with a high volume of births have more Caesarean deliveries and some hospitals are closing obstetrical departments.

Health care in a Catholic setting is not a business, as it is elsewhere, said Mussalli. "We're a center of care and excellence and we don't turn anybody away if they can't pay."

Mussalli said closing St. Vincent's would affect Gianna -- The Catholic Healthcare Center for Women, which opened in December. It is the first dedicated practice in New York and one of only a handful in the country to offer a combination of infertility treatments that are alternatives to morally objectionable assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization.

Mussalli said St. Vincent's sponsor's Gianna's site and covers may of its costs. He said withdrawing would threaten the program.

Sister Jane said, "The thing we need most right now is time to identify those who might come forward as possible partners. An unbelievable amount of work is being done. We hope to buy time to do what we need to do for St. Vincent's to survive or for pieces of St. Vincent's to survive."

Copyright © 2010 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops