Saving a hospital,keeping profit out of patient care

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) is in the fight of our lives--to save Long Island College Hospital, and to stop for-profit companies from taking over New York patient care.

LICH has served patients across Brooklyn for more than 150 years. It's the last emergency room in Brooklyn before you cross the bridge to Manhattan. That location gives it a property value pegged at up to $500 million by real estate developers and brokers, who are plotting to build high-rises with multi-million dollar views of the Manhattan skyline.

When the hospital's owner, the State University of New York's Downstate Medical Center, started talking closure, NYSNA exposed the facts: The hospital's financial crisis was a result of gross mismanagement. It was plundered first by a previous owner, then by SUNY Downstate, which continued the pattern when it acquired the hospital in 2010.

A January New York Times article put it clearly: "As SUNY Downstate Medical Center bled money over the past few years, 15 of the hospital's top administrators were paid taxpayer-financed salaries over $200,000, while nearly 500 lower-paid employees were sent layoff notices, according to a state comptroller's audit."

NYSNA nurses have responded by exposing the real estate interests lurking behind SUNY's claims and engaging the community in a strong coalition to keep the hospital open for care.

www.labornotes.org/2013/04/saving-hospital-keeping-profit-out-patient-care

Edited Apr 14, 2013 by Esme12

Have been following the ongoing saga of LICH/SUNY Downstate for awhile now, indeed ever since they abruptly shut down the school of nursing. Sadly however as one has posted elsewhere it is Saint Vinny's all over again and while one is hoping you guys can save LICH, don't see how it can happen.

Long Island College Hospital was first looted,pillaged and otherwise poorly managed by Continuum Health Partners. Then what was left of the once profit making facility was "dumped" onto SUNY Downstate in a deal that got CHP out of debts but saddled LICH with paying over 2 million per month to CHP for billing services.

Just as with Saint Vincent's/Catholic Healthcare System LICH has been so badly managed by those at the top that it now sadly is worth more (via land values) than to keep the place open as a full service hospital. It would take a huge infusion of funding and or other ways to clear LICH's debts just to stablise, form there funding would also have to be found to not only keep the place open but turn it into a facility that offers services the community would use and can make money.

The logical solution would be something NYS pushed before; to have SUNY Downstate close or move substantial amounts of services from the Flatbush campus (which is right across the street and competes with King's County), to LICH. However SUNY administration turned down that idea flat.

Every major NYC hospital system has been approached and turned down purchasing LICH so that rules out that option. Neither NYS nor NYC have the money or will to step in either. That Quinn woman was out at LICH talking about how LICH and community hospitals must be "saved", but Saint Vincent's was in her home district and that didn't help them much. Best deal Greenwhich Village got healthcare wise was pushing the Rudin family real estate land grab for the former StV's campus, and whatever urgent care NS-LIJ is supposed to open in the O'Toole building.

So... a government run hospital is being mismanaged?

Say it isn't so.

New York may be broke, but at least it is SAFE.