Red Hook march to save LICH draws hundreds
Roughly 500 supporters chanting “Health care, not condos!” joined nurses, doctors and elected leaders in Red Hook for a march to Long Island College Hospital (LICH), to keep the Cobble Hill institution open.
While the hospital serves a swath of Brooklyn from Red Hook to Williamsburg, Red Hook residents say their lives depend on LICH; the neighborhood is designated a “Health Professional Shortage Area” by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
“Long Island College Hospital is vital to Brooklyn – especially for medically-underserved neighborhoods like Red Hook, where LICH is the closest primary and acute care facility,” Jill Furillo, RN and Executive Director of the New York State Nurses Association, said in a statement.
“Common sense needs to prevail. This hospital is direly needed in South Brooklyn, Downtown Brooklyn, and especially areas like Red Hook, where people are still recovering from and have yet to see the long-term health impacts of Hurricane Sandy,” said LICH nurse and NYSNA member Linda O’Neill.