New York City- On the morning of Friday, Feb. 8, the SUNY Board of Trustees rushed through a premature and irresponsible vote to close Long Island College Hospital as stunned patients, community leaders, nurses and caregivers chanted in protest. The SUNY Board gave the public little notice of the vote, and refused to meet with stakeholders to develop feasible alternatives that would keep LICH’s vital healthcare services and jobs in the community. The Board also disregarded a letter signed by scores of state and city elected officials urging a postponement of the vote.
“Closing LICH is not an acceptable solution for residents of Downtown Brooklyn or for the borough at large. LICH is one of six financially strained hospitals in Brooklyn and closing it could create a domino effect putting more strain on our remaining hospitals. LICH saves lives and the impact of closing it will be felt not just downtown, but throughout Brooklyn and the city as a whole,” said Amelia Adams, Deputy Director of New York Communities for Change.
"People come from the surrounding neighborhood and all across Brooklyn to get care at LICH," said Herdley Hill, RN, a psychiatric nurse at LICH. "Many of our patients are low-income. Many are people of color. Many are from underserved communities. They deserve the best care -- we save lives every day."
LICH is in a growing neighborhood, is highly utilized by local residents and offers many unique medical services for the area, and the coalition believes that with the right planning, leadership and vision, the hospital could remain open and viable. The hospital operates at nearly a full census of operational bed capacity, serving over 100,000 patients a year, including vulnerable patient populations throughout the borough. With over 2,000 employees, LICH is also one of the borough’s largest employers, and its closure would be a severe blow to the local economy.
“This vote by the SUNY board was a slap in the face to patients, caregivers and all working families in Brooklyn,” said George Gresham, President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. “We will do everything in our power to make sure this disastrous closure is avoided and we keep LICH’s care and jobs in our community.”
"Wall Street and the big hospital chains want to bring in for-profit healthcare to New York State -- starting with a 'pilot project' in Brooklyn," said Jill Furillo, RN, the executive Director of the New York State Nurses Association. "They want to experiment on Brooklyn patients with a for-profit healthcare system that is already failing patients across the country. We're going to stop them -- and save LICH!"
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1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 350,000 nurses and caregivers throughout Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and quality jobs for all.
The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for hundreds of thousands of frontline nurses. We are New York's largest union and professional association for registered nurses.
“Closing LICH is not an acceptable solution for residents of Downtown Brooklyn or for the borough at large. LICH is one of six financially strained hospitals in Brooklyn and closing it could create a domino effect putting more strain on our remaining hospitals. LICH saves lives and the impact of closing it will be felt not just downtown, but throughout Brooklyn and the city as a whole,” said Amelia Adams, Deputy Director of New York Communities for Change.
"People come from the surrounding neighborhood and all across Brooklyn to get care at LICH," said Herdley Hill, RN, a psychiatric nurse at LICH. "Many of our patients are low-income. Many are people of color. Many are from underserved communities. They deserve the best care -- we save lives every day."
LICH is in a growing neighborhood, is highly utilized by local residents and offers many unique medical services for the area, and the coalition believes that with the right planning, leadership and vision, the hospital could remain open and viable. The hospital operates at nearly a full census of operational bed capacity, serving over 100,000 patients a year, including vulnerable patient populations throughout the borough. With over 2,000 employees, LICH is also one of the borough’s largest employers, and its closure would be a severe blow to the local economy.
“This vote by the SUNY board was a slap in the face to patients, caregivers and all working families in Brooklyn,” said George Gresham, President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. “We will do everything in our power to make sure this disastrous closure is avoided and we keep LICH’s care and jobs in our community.”
"Wall Street and the big hospital chains want to bring in for-profit healthcare to New York State -- starting with a 'pilot project' in Brooklyn," said Jill Furillo, RN, the executive Director of the New York State Nurses Association. "They want to experiment on Brooklyn patients with a for-profit healthcare system that is already failing patients across the country. We're going to stop them -- and save LICH!"
###
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 350,000 nurses and caregivers throughout Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and quality jobs for all.
The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for hundreds of thousands of frontline nurses. We are New York's largest union and professional association for registered nurses.
