Rally at LICH against plan to bring for-profit hospitals to Brooklyn
Senate bill would allow five for-profits; SUNY plan ‘opens the door’
A controversial budget proposal designed to bring an experimental for-profit hospital to Brooklyn was killed in March, but now a last-minute Senate bill would create five pilot projects allowing private equity firms to invest in hospitals in New York State.
Health advocates and supporters of Cobble Hill’s Long Island College Hospital (LICH) fear that several financially troubled Brooklyn hospitals including LICH, Interfaith Medical Center, and (SUNY Downstate’s) University Hospital of Brooklyn are among the targets of the bill. They plan a rally to protest what they call a for-profit takeover on Wednesday at noon at LICH.
“Healthcare advocates are calling on a moratorium on all Brooklyn hospital closures. . . and a commitment from our elected leaders to put patient care before corporate profits,” the NYS Nurses Association said in a statement.