Closure of St. Peter’s Dental angers patients

People in Albany are looking for answers – as St. Peter’s Dental closes its doors.

Several people protested outside the facility on Madison Avenue on Friday afternoon.
Ralliers said they don’t want to go to Whitney Young, as suggested by St. Peter’s.
They are upset they weren’t notified sooner about the closure, they said.

A St. Peter’s spokesperson sent this statement to NewsChannel 13:

“It was a difficult decision to close the St. Peter’s Hospital Dental Center after serving the community for more than 50 years. Despite years of optimization and improvement efforts, however, the center continued to face annual financial losses, as Medicaid reimbursement rates for these services are significantly lower than the cost to provide them. 

We have community partners, including Whitney Young, that continue to provide these services and we are working with our patients to make the transition of their care as seamless as possible. We are also looking at additional partnerships to help meet community need moving forward.”