The March 2013
Red Hook StarªRevue SOUTH BROOKLYN’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
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Beyond closure votes, LICH Supporters Rally On by Kimberly Gail Price
D
espite last week’s unanimous vote by the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate to shut down Long Island College Hospital (LICH) and liquidate their assets to pay down a significant portion of their own debt, hospital workers remain resilient and determined. SUNY doesn’t have the power to close the hospital; only the Department of Health (DOH) has the authority to close a public medical facility. LICH’s existence lies squarely on the state’s shoulders. Until then, hospital employees maintain they will continue operating the hospital as usual. “LICH IS OPEN FOR CARE,” they proclaim at rallies, forums and candlelit vigils - even in the offices of DOH. Julie Semente, a registered nurse for the past 30 years in LICH’s ICU, says: “SUNY’s actions over the past 2 months have stunned everyone. Lying about LICH real estate not being a factor in the closure decision while railroading through the process illegally was bad enough. Now shutting the community out of the process by holding a public hearing for LICH in Westchester is just making Downstate appear even less credible. But the community’s anger is going to fall on top of Governor Cuomo. All of the SUNY Trustees except for the student representative, are the governors appointees. From Red Hook to Brooklyn Heights to Dumbo, people won’t forget that their only hospital was closed and their lives were put at risk while under Cuomo’s watch.” In 2012, LICH served more than 100,000 patients, admitted over 58,000 people to through the emergency room and delivered 2,000 babies. Sixty-six of their physicians in thirty-five specialties were ranked among the best in the nation. Services in pulmonary (lung), nephrology (liver), neurology (nervous system), and neurosurgery (brain surgery) are ranked among the top in the nation. LICH provides emergency, primary and mental health care for a wide-ranging number of citizens from all socio-economic levels. They are also a designated stroke, cardiac angioplasty and neurological and neurosurgical center.
PJ Hanley’s hung in there until St. Patrick’s Day. This photo was taken just before the last last call on March 17th. Some call Hanley’s Brooklyn oldest bar. It has been in business since 1874, but is now in bankruptcy court. (photo by Kimberly Gail Price)
LICH began in 1858 as a medical school and a hospital. LICH started having rela-
Inside:
Fairway’ re-opening
Special Section “Brooklyn is growing in leaps and bounds. We need to keep this hospital open for care,” says LICH kidney dialysis RN Maribel Agosto. photo: New York State Nurses Association
tively small annual deficits around the mid 1990’s. The Board of LICH opted to take on an outside partner to maximize their cost efficiency, according to Toomas M. Sorra, MD and President of Concerned Physicians of LICH. They eventually merged with Continuum Health Partners in 1998.
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LICH had never faced closure before being “plundered by Continuum,” she said. But in 2008, Continuum sold off approximately $50 million worth of properties for real estate development. After a decade of mismanagement from 1998-2008, Continuum sent warning notices to the employees of LICH, planning to discontinue women and children’s services as well as dental services. DOH refused to allow it because the services were vital to the surrounding communities. “Nothing has changed since then, except that the population of the community we serve has exploded. If LICH was too vital in 2008 to shut down even just a few services, it’s even more vital now,” wrote Semente. Continuum then filed formal complaints in 2008 with the State Health Department to terminate their partnership with LICH. Continuum was also aligned with St Vincent’s in Manhattan when their doors were permanently shuttered. St Vincent’s was over $1 billion in debt and they were forced to close in 2010. (continued on page 5)
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