Interfaith Medical Center receives surprise three-month reprieve
Christmas bonus puts hospital closure on hold until March 7
In a dramatic last-minute deal on Monday, New York State gave Brooklyn’s Interfaith Medical Center an unexpected three-month reprieve.
The state Department of Health (DOH) contacted Interfaith’s legal team with the news Monday morning, shortly before Interfaith was scheduled to submit its closure plan to Chief Bankruptcy Judge Carla E. Craig.
Interfaith, serving Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights and nearby areas, was expected to start its closure process on January 7, with all operations coming to an end on January 26. The beleaguered hospital logged 11,000 inpatient visits and 250,000 outpatient visits last year, but was forced to file for bankruptcy last December after the state rejected its proposed restructuring plan.
“Interfaith lawyers received a phone call from the Department of Health this morning before they were supposed to submit the closure plan to the judge,” Interfaith spokesperson Melissa Krantz told the Brooklyn Eagle on Monday, after the bankruptcy hearing was cancelled.