3,500 St. Vincent's Workers Get Pink Slips

You're fired.

That's the officials word Monday for 3,500 employees at St. Vincent's hospital, who will lose their jobs as the Greenwich Village hospital begins to shut down.

It looked like business as usual outside St. Vincent's on Monday, but big changes were underway as the hospital moved ahead with its plan to close. The emergency room had already stopped taking patients, and the somber atmosphere was made worse by the word that pink slips were going out. 

"It's very mournful. We definitely feel a big sense of loss as employees. We love our patients here at St. Vincent's. We love the community we work in," said Amy Purdy, an employee at the hospital. 

In a statement the hospital said: "Employees' jobs will end based upon the needs of the hospital as it moves forward with an orderly and safe withdrawal of operations." 

Most of the people that spoke with CBS 2 seemed less concerned about finding another job than their patients finding care. 

"It's a great hospital. It's a shame that the people of the West Side aren't going to have a hospital. They're not going to have an E.R. to go to. It's going to be bad," said Dr. Blendi Cuami. 

Other workers are still in shock. 

"It's just sad that it's happening. I just can't believe it," said Andre Fitzgerald. 

The hospital has served the area for 160 years and was more than $700 million in debt. There were many people in the community that rallied to try and save it. Now, there is a sense of loss and foreboding, after all efforts have failed to save St. Vincent's. 

"It's getting warm. People are out of work. A lot of things could happen. There could be another incident like 9/11. What's going to happen? The city's hospitals are going to be overwhelmed," said Brian Smith, a Greenwich Village resident.

Elective surgery will no longer be performed at St. Vincent's after this week. The date of the closing is still unknown. 

CBS 2