State university officials voted Tuesday to close Long Island College Hospital, ending a legal fight that had delayed the demise of the 156-year-old medical center in downtown Brooklyn.
The board of trustees for the State University of New York voted unanimously to close the hospital in a vote held at Purchase College, in Westchester County.
This was the second time in just over a month that university trustees had voted to close the ailing institution. SUNY trustees held a raucous public hearing in early February attended by about 150 nurses, hospital workers and community members, followed the next day by a unanimous closure vote.
But that decision hit a legal roadblock when State Supreme Court Justice Johnny Baynes on Thursday found fault with the initial vote, saying the university didn't abide by a law requiring open meetings to be held on the decision.
The university then rescheduled meetings for Monday and Tuesday in Westchester, drawing criticism from unions and local officials of the timeline and location.
"SUNY again demonstrated a disturbing lack of transparency, holding its vote on the future of LICH in Westchester today," said State Sen. Daniel Squadron, in a statement Tuesday.
SUNY officials have said they need to move quickly to close the hospital, which they say loses $4 million a month.
LICH is part of the larger Downstate Medical Center, which also includes a medical school and University Hospital of Brooklyn, in the Flatbush neighborhood, and a smaller facility in Bay Ridge. The center as a whole is losing $12 million a month, according to David Doyle, a spokesman for SUNY
"What we're trying to do is preserve Downstate Medical," he added.
In order to close the hospital, SUNY next needs to submit a plan for approval to the state Health Department, which could make modifications. It also needs to formally notify employees of the impending closure.
Mr. Doyle said SUNY planned to file the closure plan as early as Tuesday and hopes to close the hospital within a few months.
The university will almost certainly face additional legal or political challenges. Unions for nurses and other health-care workers vowed to continue fighting the closure of the hospital, which employs about 2,000 people.
"LICH is open for care—and our fight to keep it open is just beginning," said Jill Furillo, executive director of the New York State Nurses Association, in a statement.
(online.wsj.com)
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