Bravo de Blasio, Squadron, Levin and Lander for Brave LICH Raid!

State Sen. Daniel Squadron, Councilman Steve Levin, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Councilman Brad Lander proved their mettle yesterday with a brave charge into Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in Cobble Hill, after SUNY Downstate administrators refused to speak to them about their plan to shut down LICH.

In their latest shameless act, the bankrupt SUNY Downstate administration told LICH doctors to transfer all their patients out by Friday so SUNY could shut down LICH by Sunday. This after shutting down ambulance service to LICH in defiance of a court order, setting off a health crisis that is spreading across Brooklyn.

Hundreds of people poured out into the street when they got the word.

Patients, staff and neighbors gathered along Hicks Street -- in the middle of the workday on the hottest day of the year. (There's another rally at noon today.)

Dr. Alice Garner, head of the neonatal unit at LICH, said, “I received verbal orders that we are to transfer all patients by tomorrow so they can shut us down by Sunday." She added that SUNY Downstate is trying to force LICH to transfer a baby out of the unit against the mother's wishes.

"We’re not standing for it. SUNY is violating the law and the public trust," de Blasio said, before leading a push to the administrative floor to attempt to meet with the SUNY's straw man, James Karkenny.

Karkenny threatened the elected officials, then hid in his office. (The meeting is described in detail in the Brooklyn Eagle.)

Exactly what you would expect from this group of crooks masquerading as hospital administrators.

The 150-year-old LICH is the centerpiece of northwestern Brooklyn's health system -- but bankrupt Downstate can't wait to get its hands on its real estate millions.

Now SUNY is crying that LICH is losing $15 million a month. Amazing -- in February they said LICH was losing $3 million a month, and it turned out $2 million of that was being paid to Continuum for billing and IT services which Continuum didn't provide. (If Continuum had actually billed for all services provided at LICH, the hospital would likely be making money every month.)

Since February, SUNY has closed down all of LICH's core departments, harassed doctors and patients, shut down the residency program, and forbid hospital admissions. All these actions were committed by SUNY, not LICH.

SUNY told the Eagle that the closing was just a "rumor." Meanwhile, LICH hospital staff report that SUNY employees were looting LICH's equipment yesterday after the rally.

Cuomo? Oh No

Brooklyn voters see who is standing with them and who isn't.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is NOT standing with the people of Brooklyn.

State Sen. Daniel Squadron, Councilman Steve Levin, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Councilman Brad Lander are. Thank you all for risking arrest to do what is right.



More LICH posts here.


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