Cobble Hill

BULLETIN: LICH IS DEAD

It's over. Cuomo's health department pulls the plug.

July 19, 2013 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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The New York State Department of Health has approved the closing of LICH.

The hospital will be dead before the end of the month.

Staff have been told they will be terminated within the next 30 days.

Officials of the State University of New York, which operates both LICH and the Downstate Medical Center in East Flatbush, had been telling reporters over the last 24 hours that there was no plan to close LICH immediately — despite the fact that SUNY had submitted just such a plan to the department of health of Wednesday, as revealed in today DOH statement (reprinted below).

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SUNY officials on Wednesday had quietly ordered doctors to discharge LICH’s few remaining patients by Friday in anticipation of a Sunday shutdown, prompting the SUNY denials.

• • •

This is the text of the Department of Health statement:

John Williams, M.D., President
SUNY Downstate Medical Center 
450 Clarkson Avenue, Box 1
Brooklyn, New York 11203-2098

Dear Dr. Williams:

In accordance with 10 NYCRR 401.3 (g), SUNY Downstate Medical Center (SUNY Downstate), submitted the closure plan for the Long Island College Hospital (LICH) on July 17, 2013.  The New York State Department of Health (Department) has reviewed the closure plan, and approves the following actions:

 As expressly set forth in Section A (“Acute Care Inpatient Services”), on Page 7 of SUNY Downstate’s Closure Plan for LICH, LICH will “cease admitting patients from its Emergency Department (ED) at noon on July 22, 2013.”  It is understood that LICH will continue to operate its ED with all supportive ancillary services, including laboratory, radiology, social work and pharmacy, until July 29, 2013.

 As expressly set forth in Section A (“Acute Care Inpatient Services”), on Page 7 of SUNY Downstate’s Closure Plan for LICH, LICH will transfer or discharge all remaining inpatients “on or before July 28th, 2013.”  All patients will be discharged in accordance with applicable Federal and State requirements for discharge planning.

 As expressly set forth in Section C (“Surgical Services”), on Page 7 of SUNY Downstate’s Closure Plan for LICH, LICH will cancel its elective surgery schedule, “effective July 22, 2013”. All patients and their physicians will be notified of the cancellations so that procedures can be re-scheduled at other facilities.

SUNY Downstate may begin to take steps to implement the above approved actions.  We will continue to work with you on the approval and implementation of the remainder of the closure plan.  Should you have questions or require assistance, please contact Robert Welch, Deputy Director of the Division of Hospitals and Diagnostic and Treatment Centers at 518-402-1004.

Sincerely,
Ruth Leslie, Director
Division of Hospitals and Diagnostic and Treatment Centers

Update: More developments on this story here.


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