Saving our Hospital

As we continue to work with our community and local electeds to keep a hospital open in our neighborhood, we're pleased to hear this Judge Betsy Barros has barred SUNY Downstate from taking any steps to close LICH, pending further hearings. Full details are available at the WNYC link below. 

http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2013/feb/20/judge-blocks-suny-closing-long-island-college-hospital/

Thurs 2/14 @ 6pm Community Forum about LICH

text is copied from Councilman Brad Lander's newsletter... 
As you’ve probably heard, last Friday the SUNY Board of Trustees voted to close Long Island College Hospital, a community health care institution that has served Brooklyn for more than 150 years. LICH was acquired by SUNY Downstate in 2011.

The SUNY Board of Trustees vote authorizes SUNY Downstate to present a plan for closing LICH to the New York State Department of Health, which will make the final decision. I strongly oppose the proposal to close LICH, as I stated a hearing of the SUNY Board of Trustees last Thursday. It is the wrong plan, and will do real harm to families and to our community. This long-term abandonment of essential health care infrastructure would be an irreplaceable loss for downtown and brownstone Brooklyn. It will take tough decisions and strong leadership for SUNY Downstate to become a financially solvent institution, but the complete closure of LICH is simply unacceptable.

The New York State Nurses Association and 1199SEIU, who represent LICH workers, along with the Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and Boerum Hill Neighborhood Associations and the DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance, are holding a community forum about LICH this Thursday, February 14th, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Kane Street Synagogue. Please come to this important community meeting to learn more about how we can work together to save LICH.

Community Forum about LICH
Thursday, February 14, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Kane Street Synagogue, 236 Kane Street (between Court and Clinton)

For more information about the forum, contact Mickey Green from the New York State Nurses Association at 718-714-8863 or michelle.green@nysna.org.

Keep LICH Alive

Contact New York State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah at nrs02@health.state.ny.us or (518) 474-2011 and demand that Long Island College Hospital remains OPEN.

LICH updates

The Long Island College Hospital (LICH) is a vital community institution. It has been in our area for 150 years, employs 1900 people, and most importantly provides life-saving services to people in our area from DUMBO to Red Hook. There were 122,300 patient visits to LICH in 2012; 25,900 of those were visits to the ER.
      The Board of Trustees of the State University of New York (SUNY), which owns LICH is expected to propose at its meeting this Friday that the hospital be closed. By law, there has to be a "Public Meeting/ Hearing" to get this process started. The hearing will take place TODAY, Thursday, February 7, from 3:00-5:00 P.M. at the Auditorium of the College of Optometry, 33 West 42nd Street in Manhattan.
    Please join me and other religious, political, and health care leaders in opposing the closing of LICH. You can take these steps:

• Call Governor Cuomo at 518 474 8390 and tell him that our community needs this hospital.

• Attend a Rally for LICH on Friday, February 8 at LICH, at 8:30 A.M. followed by aHall  march to Borough Hall where there will be a press conference at 9:30 A.M and a public hearing at 10:30 A.M.

 • You can also show your concern by attending a community forum about LICH next Thursday, February 14, from 6-8 P.M. at the synagogue (236 Kane St). The forum is sponsored by the Cobble Hill Association, Brooklyn Heights Association, Carroll Garden Association, Kane Street Synagogue, New York State Nurses Association, and 1199 SEIU.

Sincerely,
The Cobble Hill Association

Thursday Hearing for LICH

McBrooklyn has already summed it up perfectly, so we're simply cross posting their blog entry below.

SUNY's Board of Trustees will be holding a special hearing on Thursday afternoon regarding the fate of LICH (Long Island College Hospital), with a public comment period starting around 3:30 p.m.

Showing how little regard SUNY has for public input at the meeting, they will announce their final decision Friday morning, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

Roy Sloane, president of the Cobble Hill Association, told the Eagle on Tuesday, “I feel a hearing taking place on Thursday for a Friday vote is a foregone conclusion. If the state were interested in meaningful comments they would have more than a 24-hour comment period.

“I don’t think anybody’s being fooled,” he said. “It’s a mockery of the public process.”

And that about sums it up.