Mary Hartshorne

Mary Hartshorne of Malta is a tremendous and dedicated advocate for justice for the 1,100 retired health care professionals of the former St. Clare’s Hospital in Schenectady who lost all or some of their pensions through no fault of their own.

Ms. Hartshorne is Chair of the St. Clare’s Pension Recovery Alliance and has been a powerful and effective public voice for the more than 1,100 retirees who have been impacted with this devastating economic loss of their retirement savings. She has worked night and day as a leader in the effort to fight for these health care workers who cared for some of the most vulnerable, and saw their pensions evaporate in the snap of a finger, causing many to face dire economic situations in their retirement years. As Ms. Hartshorne continues to push for the government to help provide assistance to the St. Clare’s retirees, the dissolution of the St. Clare’s Pension Fund is under investigation by the New York State Attorney General’s Office.

St. Clare’s Hospital was closed over a decade ago and its operations were absorbed by Ellis Medicine. At the time, the State paid $58.7 million to cover transition costs, including $28 million to cover the anticipated needs of the St. Clare’s Pension Fund. Unfortunately, that was not enough to cover the Fund’s pension costs. Since federal law permits a religious exemption, the St. Clare’s Pension Fund has no benefit guarantee insurance.

Ms. Hartshorne worked for St. Clare’s Hospital for almost 30 years in various positions, including as a Registered X-ray Technician and Ultrasound Technologist. She received an Associate Degree from SUNY Schenectady and attended St. Clare’s School of Radiology while working part-time at Loblaws so she could pay for books, uniforms, and tuition. Ms. Hartshorne also worked part-time for General Electric Medical Systems as an applications specialist, where she traveled the East Coast teaching ultrasound.

Ms. Hartshorne is the oldest of 10 children. She has two daughters, five grandchildren and one great-grandson.