Romney criticized for press conference site

Mitt Romney reaped quite a bit of political mileage today by getting out there early to bash Hillary Clinton's healthcare plan.

But now he's in a bit of hot water for the venue he chose.

Romney held his press conference to deride Clinton's plan as "Hillarycare 2.0" just outside St. Vincents Hospital Manhattan in New York.

This afternoon, the hospital issued a statement chiding the Republican presidential contender for doing so without advance permission.

"As a non-profit organization, St. Vincent's Hospital does not become involved in political campaigns," the hospital's statement said. "We find it unfortunate that Mr. Romney misappropriated the image and good will of St. Vincent's Hospital to further a political agenda. While St. Vincent's believes that there needs to be real discussion about healthcare reform and finding ways to provide coverage to the now 47 million Americans without health insurance, it is inappropriate for the hospital to be used for political gain."

Romney campaign spokesman Kevin Madden said the hospital's name was only used to identify a location for the press conference.

"It was a public sidewalk in front of the hospital and we did not use hospital property," he said in an email.

The hospital, it turns out, has a trauma center named for Romney's GOP rival, Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who along with his wife Judy helped raise millions for the hospital. It has the only trauma center in Lower Manhattan and treated hundreds of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.