Long Island College Hospital Threatens Closure

will be forced to close next month if expected state grants to fund a merger with SUNY Downstate Medical Center fall through, or are delayed, the hospital announced today.

Continuum Health Partners, which runs the hospital, said if the HEAL (Health Care Efficiency and Affordability Law) grants are delayed or rescinded,  "LICH will have no choice but to file for bankruptcy, resulting in imminent closure of the hospital."

The hospital announced the merger with SUNY Downstate in October, and the deal was touted as a major success for the Paterson Administration. Keeping the hospital's doors open has been an ongoing struggle.

The $62 million in grants, $22 million for Long Island College Hospital and $40 million for SUNY Downstate, is money not coming from tax dollars but from the State Department of Health.

The potential closing of LICH was first reported today by The New York Times. The Times reported that State Department of Health officials told Continuum Health Partners on Tuesday night that they were "delaying all undistributed grants under the program — more than a hundred awards totaling $683 million — as part of a broader effort to rethink the state’s sprawling Medicaid program."

Elected officials are coming out in support of the grants for LICH.

"LICH has helped keep Brooklyn healthy for more than 150 years, and it must not be forced to close its doors now," said State Senator Daniel Squadron in a statement. "I will continue to work with the governor, my colleagues in government and the hospitals as the merger moves forward."

Councilmember Brad Lander also issued a strongly-worded statement and called on the Cuomo Administration to restore the grants.

"Long Island College Hospital serves people from throughout Brooklyn, and is especially important to residents of Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens, for whom it is the nearest medical facility," his statement read. "By delaying these grants, and suggesting that they might be cancelled, the Cuomo Administration is placing the merger, the survival of LICH and the health of our communities in jeopardy."

called on the Governor to expedite the release of the money.

"I join all of my colleagues in government to ensure that LICH remains a vital part of our community," said Millman in a statement.

At the hospital this afternoon, people expressed surprise and dismay at the news.

"I hope they don't close it down, because a lot of people are going to suffer," said Rose Marie Mercado, a Queens resident who was bringing her uncle to see a specialist at the hospital.

Anthony Valdez was visiting his father who had been in a car accident on Kane Street a couple of days earlier. He has lived nearby on Tiffany Place and was even born at LICH. He said it would be sad to see the hospital shut its doors, but he also said these things happen.

"It's part of what goes around," he said.

Jo Anne Simon, district leader for the 52nd Assembly District, former President of the Boerum Hill Association and local civil rights attorney said forcing LICH to close is not a way to save money.

"The governor needs to understand that this is actually going to cost money in the long run," she said.

Simon also pointed out that LICH's neighborhood is a growing one.

"We have a little baby boom here," she said. "A lot of services are needed."