A Brooklyn judge has called an emergency meeting on new developments in the long-running saga involving Long Island College Hospital.
Sources tell NY1 the 3 p.m. meeting will address SUNY Downstate’s sudden and surprising decision to stop admissions and ambulance service at the facility it operates as of Wednesday night.
SUNY Downstate had banned ambulances from delivering patients in June, but started again in September.
“I walked into the ER and asked can I be admitted and they said, ‘No. You can be seen but not admitted.’ I asked when that decision was made and they said a few hours ago and then I left. Now, that’s in violation of court orders by Judge Baynes and Judge Demerast, calling for ambulances to be allowed, calling for patients to be admitted, calling for staffing levels to be maintained,” said one community advocate.
SUNY has long been trying to close LICH, claiming the hospital is losing millions of dollars.
But that effort has faced strong community and political opposition.
Residents in the area who use LICH say the constant disruptions are a burden.
“It happens all the time at this hospital,” said one Brooklyn resident.
“I don’t trust Brooklyn Hospital, and I don’t trust Woodhull Hospital. This is the hospital that I feel more comfortable going to,” said another Brooklyn resident.
A judge put closure plans on hold in June when he ruled state laws surrounding hospital closures were unconstitutional.
http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info/?p=16928
via Great Local News: New York http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info
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