SUNY survival plan: Shrink Downstate, form Brooklyn hospital network, ditch LICH
At a meeting of its board in Manhattan on Tuesday, SUNY presented a four-year restructuring plan that would save financially-troubled SUNY Downstate Hospital by shrinking it and forming a network with other Brooklyn hospitals.
SUNY’s affiliate Long Island College Hospital (LICH) is still up for grabs, however. On May 1, SUNY issued a public Request for Information (RFI) to find another operators to take over some or all of the Cobble Hill hospital. SUNY is considering several proposals, according to published reports.
Under SUNY Downstate’s restructuring plan, Downstate would be transformed into a “smaller, more efficient hospital that is more financially sustainable.” The plan includes “significant workforce reductions” at Downstate’s teaching hospital, University Hospital of Brooklyn.
SUNY says the proposed network of Brooklyn hospitals – to be called the Brooklyn Health Improvement PBC (Public Benefit Corporation) — would streamline health services throughout the borough by eliminating duplication of services.