New, Honest LICH Bidding Could Start This Week, If Justice Demarest Approves

Long Island College Hospital (LICH). Photo: MK Metz

A deal brokered between SUNY and the Long Island College Hospital (LICH) coalition could lead to a new, honest round of bidding for LICH as soon as Thursday, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

State Supreme Court Justice Johnny Lee Baynes has already approved the agreement. On Monday other parties must sign off on the deal -- most notably, state Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Demarest.

It was Justice Demarest who approved the takeover of LICH by SUNY Downstate in 2011, and it was Justice Demarest who expressed remorse with her approval when she saw what a mess SUNY Downstate made of LICH.

No doubt she is thinking long and hard about a deal that will absolve SUNY of its LICH crimes -- at least the ones we know about.

The agreement has many details, but its major point is: SUNY will issue a new Request for Proposals (RFP) with the stated objective of finding an operator who will operate LICH as a full-service hospital. Members of the community will sit at the evaluation table. (Community gets about 35% voice, all told.)

It doesn't guarantee a hospital. Rather, proposals that include a hospital will get a higher score by evaluators. It doesn't guarantee healthcare workers jobs either. Layoffs may start in April.

All the deal guarantees is an open process, designed with the input of the community, to sell LICH to someone who wants to operate a hospital. If no hospital bidder appears, then the bidder offering the most medical services will likely win.

Once the RFP is issued, any and all bidders will have 15 business days to submit a proposal. Evaluators will have seven business days to consider and rank the proposals.

Since at least one group already proposed a hospital, interested bidders best propose a full-service hospital if they want to be considered.

Many more details are listed here.


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