Join the fight to save LICH! Contact SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher at chancellor@suny.edu or (800) 342-3811 and the Board of Trustees at trustees@suny.edu or (518) 320-1157. Tell SUNY to keep vital healthcare and good jobs in our community. A coalition of 1199ers, New York State Nurses Association members, Brooklyn residents and elected officials rallied outside Long Island College Hospital (LICH) on Jan. 25 to protest the proposed closure of the vital safety-net institution.



Last week the New York State comptroller’s office released a report indicating a severe fiscal crisis within LICH’s parent institution, SUNY Downstate. “From my perspective it’s just bad management,” says delegate Mercedes Folkes, who has worked at LICH for 50 years.



“When SUNY acquired LICH they told the workers they were going to bring back our finances. The only thing we hear is that SUNY has no money.” Soon after the comptroller’s report was released SUNY board members met to discuss a plan to ensure SUNY Downstate’s survival, which included the closure of LICH. Any plan must be approved but the New York State Department of Health before it goes forward.



Folkes, a unit clerk, lives near LICH in the neighborhood of Clinton Hill and says closing the hospital would be terrible for Brooklyn residents; LICH provides medical care for over 100,000 patients a year and employs more than 2,000 people. Losing the hospital would be an especially severe blow to vulnerable patient populations like seniors and the poor.



“It just doesn’t make sense,” she says. “People use this hospital and they love it. I had all five of my kids here. They are putting up so many buildings in these neighborhoods. If LICH closes people will have to go all the way across Brooklyn to Brooklyn Hospital or to Maimonides to get to a hospital. It will be a disaster. People need to go where they are comfortable and where their doctors are.” In a statement released on Friday, 1199SEIU Pres. George Gresham joined community members, workers and elected officials in urging SUNY and state officials to develop a responsible stabilization plan for LICH.



“We must protect the vital healthcare services that Long Island College Hospital provides to Brooklyn residents. LICH is a safety net hospital that serves seniors, working families and vulnerable patient populations. All other options should be thoroughly explored and exhausted before even considering the possibility of closure, especially since the Medicaid Redesign Team recommended that LICH stay open,” said Gresham. “LICH is also a large employer in Brooklyn, and its closing would result in the loss of thousands of good jobs, which could be a blow to the local economy. The caregivers of 1199SEIU will do everything in our power to make sure this disastrous closure is avoided and we develop alternative solutions that keep LICH's crucial healthcare services and good jobs in our community.”



Join the fight to save LICH! Contact SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher at chancellor@suny.edu or (800) 342-3811 and the Board of Trustees at trustees@suny.edu or (518) 320-1157. Tell SUNY to keep vital healthcare and good jobs in our community.







UPDATE



Mercedes Folkes, a Long Island College Hospital employee, letter to explore other options before closing hospital gets published in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper.