Seems LICH is Really on its Way Out This Time
The writing’s been on the wall for a long time, but now there’s no confusing the message: Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn Heights Cobble Hill is almost certainly closing, according to The New York Times. The paper reports that the hospital is likely to begin closing next month “after a decision by the Cuomo…
The writing’s been on the wall for a long time, but now there’s no confusing the message: Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn Heights Cobble Hill is almost certainly closing, according to The New York Times. The paper reports that the hospital is likely to begin closing next month “after a decision by the Cuomo administration to delay grants to help finance a merger intended to rescue the institution.” LICH was supposed to get $22 million in state grants, and if the money doesn’t come through, Stanley Brezenoff, president of Continuum Health Partners—which owns the facility—says the hospital “would run out of cash by mid-March. At that point, he said, he would be forced to begin bankruptcy proceedings and move forward with closing the hospital and laying off its 2,500 employees. Without the state money, Mr. Brezenoff said, Continuum could not complete moving the hospital under the SUNY umbrella. Mr. Brezenoff said that he was already putting together a draft closing plan and preparing to send out termination notices. He said that because the conversation with the state was so recent, he had not yet warned the employees that the merger might be called off.” Update: Thanks to the border patrol who helpfully pointed out that this is in Cobble Hill, goddammit, not Brooklyn Heights!
Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn May Close [NY Times]
Minard;
Yes, do try to get out of BH now and then. It might do you some good 😉
rf: I have been to Fort Greene lately but I confess I am not sure as to the exact location of the hospital. You say it is in nicer area? That is good to know. I will swing by there now that it may become the closest facility to BH/CH. Thanks.
Minard, have you been to Ft. Greene lately? Brooklyn Hospital is a lot closer to the priciest blocks of Ft. Greene than it is to the projects. Across the street from LIU to the west, Ft. Greene Park to the east, and Brooklyn Tech to the south. To the north is University Towers which is NOT the projects.
scary to spend millions on a house or condo and know that in an emergency you will be taken to a horrible hospital where they will probably torture you before finishing you off.
I think the worst possible choice has to be Brooklyn Hospital, which is right in the middle of the projects.
Say what you will, LICH is pretty good. Last time I was in the ER I got talking with a couple from Park Slope who said they preferred traveling the extra distance to be in LICH rather than Methodist. But that was some years ago.
Grand Army;
Health care is a complicated topic and you are just trying to score political points. If you want to dicuss policies, I’m there. Want to spin jingos about “head in the sand”, there are plenty of posters on this site who can talk that crap.
Though I am on the right, I complimented Andrew Cuomo at the beginning of this thread for trying to make tough choices, and recognizing that pithy statements aren’t going to carry the day.
Hospital stays are a zillion times shorter than they used to be. Aside from procedures done on an outpatient basis and surgeries done arthroscopically which results in much shorter healing times, it’s not good for people to stay in the hospital any longer than they have to. My brother had a liver transplant at Mt. Sinai during the summer and he was out of the hospital in 4 days.
THe other thing about NYU is that they don’t take patients without insurance. They send them to Bellevue too. I don’t know how they get away with it, given the amount of federal money they receive.
NYU Medical Center doesn’t take Medicaid patients. They ship them over to Bellevue.
Benson: You’ll see I said, “They have only survived because the state, the feds and sometimes charities like the Roman Catholic church have propped them up. Now this model is breaking down.” So I’m well aware that a Democratic governor is pulling the plug on LICH. But at least some Dems (including the White House) are attempting a nationwide healthcare fix — imperfect and incomplete as it is. As far as I can tell the Republicans have their heads in the sand. To turn the right-wing rhetoric upside down: an unhealthy country can be neither prosperous nor free.
NY City and State hospitals have the longest length of stay of any hospitals in the US. Yes we have excess beds but the hospitals that are closing-the community hospitals- for the most part are the less expensive ones. the ones we have too many of are teaching hospitals in Manhattan none of which is scheduled to close or was picked by the Hospital closing commission as a target. hospitals have lost lots of business to freestanding surgi-centers who specialize in one area of treatment. The hospitals just don’t get that inpatient is not as needed as it once was…
I actually had a pretty good experience at LICH for most things. but I mostly use Manhattan hospitals(teaching ones) it doesn’t cost me any difference.
The closing of LICH St Vincents etc has resulted in increased cost and little savings,…