Bellevue Hospital's Program for Survivors of Torture Closes Amid Staff Concerns
Bellevue Hospital’s Program for Survivors of Torture (PSOT) in Manhattan is set to close this month, raising significant concerns among staff and patients about the continuity of care for refugees and torture survivors. Founded in 1995, the program provided holistic medical, mental health, legal, and social support to approximately 700 individuals last year. While NYC Health + Hospitals asserts that care will continue uninterrupted through a new Primary Care Human Rights Clinic, staff argue the transition is rushed and lacks transparency. Program leaders cite fears of increased federal scrutiny on immigration-related funding and potential access by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to patient data as underlying reasons for the closure. Key staff members, including co-founders Dr. Allen Keller and Dr. Asher Aladjem, face termination or role elimination by mid-May. Critics worry that shifting to a primary care model fails to address the complex, specialized needs of trauma survivors, potentially disrupting asylum applications and psychological healing processes for a vulnerable population already facing immense challenges.
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