To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

St. John's Queens Hospital in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica stopped accepting patients at midnight Sunday and officially closed up shop on Monday.

Workers held a vigil outside St. John's Saturday night.

The hospitals closed because their operator, Caritas Healthcare, recently filed for bankruptcy.

The move will leave about 2,500 people out of work.

"It's like a ghost town. The community depends on us so much," said administrator Myrna Bailey.

"Seeing this place so empty like this, it's like somebody else that's being taken away from you, and that's just very sad," said Elita Mariano, a registered nurse.

"Things came so fast that I didn't have a chance to look for another job," said Dr. Mohammad Ahsan, an emergency room attendant. "I don't know. Maybe go home and stop by unemployment - that's the plan we have now."

The state last week did approve an $18 million grant, of which $15 million will be used to help other Queens hospitals that will take on the extra patients.

Catherine Wilkinson, a nurse at St. John's Queens for 37 years, did not think that will be enough.

"I'm upset for the people in the area, and where are they going to go and receive healthcare?" said Wilkinson. "I know the governor said he'll give extra money to the local hospitals. The local hospitals are overwhelmed already and we're just getting into the really cold time of the year. So I'm upset for the patients, and where they're going to get quality care."

The two hospitals are likely to remain vacant in the near future.