Chelsea Clinton’s Apartment a Secret Hospital –Unproven!
Summary of eRumor:
Chelsea Clinton’s apartment is a secret medical facility that Hillary Clinton visits to get treatment for conditions that she keeps hidden from the public.
The Truth:
There’s no way to prove or disprove that Chelsea Clinton has a secret medical facility in her New York City apartment that her mother uses to treatment secret medical conditions.
Those rumors began circulating after Hillary Clinton abruptly left a 9/11 event and nearly collapsed as aids loaded her into a van. People immediately questioned why Hillary, who had been diagnosed with pneumonia, wasn’t taken to Chelsea’s apartment rather than a hospital for treatment of what her campaign described as “overheating.”
One of the first people to float the idea that Chelsea had some kind of a secret medical facility in her apartment was Martin Shkreli, a controversial pharmaceutical investor who rushed to Chelsea’s apartment to “find Hillary” after she was taken there. Shkreli made the comment during a live Periscope feed outside the apartment:
I was hoping to see some medical equipment being carted in. My guess is that there’s space-aged technology in that apartment, and that it is not Chelsea Clinton’s apartment but it’s a triage center for Hillary Clinton while she’s in New York. Have we ever been inside? Have we actually seen an apartment where people live? I believe there is actual medical equipment in that apartment.
Shkreli seemed to invite speculation about a secret medical center at Chelsea’s apartment, and that’s exactly what followed. Soon, reports went viral that Chelsea’s apartment, located in The Whitman at 21 East 26th Street in New York, had the same address as a business called Metrocare Home Services, sparking speculation that the apartment was actually a secret medical facility.
A forwarded email sums up the secret medical center theory like this:
For a woman very secretive about her ambiguous medical conditions…whom avoids hospitals like the plague, it occurred to me that when the Clinton’s bought this incredibly expensive apt. for their daughter in 2013…they may have also purchased it with the intent of using it as a secret private medical treatment facility for Hillary to use during her anticipated campaign.
To the press…it would only appear Hillary was just dropping in for a visit with her daughter…when, in reality, she is receiving medical treatment and controlled substances from private physicians and private pharmacists…on private property (no need for disclosure).
Claims that Chelsea’s apartment had the same address as Metrocare Home Services are outdated. The were based on this outdated profile page listed at Healthcare.com. We called the phone number listed and found that Metrocare Home Services was acquired by or merged with Metrocare Givers, Inc., which has an address in Brooklyn.
It’s not clear when, exactly, Metrocare Home Services left Chelsea Clinton’s apartment building. But the home care provider was likely forced to move when the building, which had been owned by a plumber’s union, was acquired by developers in 2011. The developers immediately set out to build multi-million dollar luxury condos, the Observer reports:
The Whitman, as the handsome brick and limestone manse is to be known, will have three full-floor residences, priced at $10 million, $10.25 million and $10.5 million (the cost increases incrementally as the floors go up), and a 6,540-square-foot duplex penthouse. The penthouse comes with three terraces (totaling 3,000 square feet), a $22.5 million price tag and the ultimate luxury—27,500-square-feet of air rights. Enough to build another mansion on top, or to sell to Madison Square Park’s next luxury-minded condo developer.
The New York Post reported in March 2013 that Chelsea and her husband, Marc Mezinsky, had purchased The Whitman’s third floor apartment for about $10 million. NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon reportedly purchased the second floor condo, and Jennifer Lopez reportedly purchased the two-story penthouse:
Last week, ex-President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton toured the apartment, graciously posing for photographs with the hard hats who were working at the building.
Chelsea, 33, and Marc, 35, “live in the neighborhood and found the building on their own while out walking,” a source said.
“It’s great for them, because it is in a hot neighborhood and it is very private. There aren’t hundreds of neighbors, and there is great security.”
The unit at 21 E. 26th St. is four bedrooms, with 6 1/2 bathrooms, and the family room has a full view of the park.
The master bathroom is made of Italian marble. The spread also boasts a home office and media room.
So, while there’s no way to prove or disprove that Chelsea’s apartment is a secret medical center for Hillary to use while on the campaign trail — there doesn’t seem to be anything outright suspicious about the apartment. The fact that a home health provider previously had its offices there is likely a coincidence.
And it should be noted that Metrocare provides basic in-home care and rehabilitation services to seniors. It doesn’t seem likely that a home healthcare provider’s headquarters would have had advanced or “space aged” medical equipment that the Clintons could have used. A page listed at AgingCare.com for Metrocare Givers describes basic home health services offered by the company:
Metrocare Givers, Inc. is a home care provider that services New York, NY 10010. Home care services allow seniors to remain safely in their own home while receiving medical care or assistance with personal care and other daily tasks. Services vary, but some providers offer companionship services or skilled home health care services for individuals who require ongoing health monitoring, assistance with administering medications or wound care.
But, then again, there’s no way to prove that medical equipment wasn’t later added to Chelsea’s apartment.
For all those reasons, we’re calling this one “unproven.”