Calling it “a transcendent moment for health care in New York City,” Mayor Bill de Blasio discussed Friday the deal to save Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn.
The agreement was reached Thursday between the facility’s operator, SUNY Downstate, and community groups that sued to keep LICH open.
It will end all lawsuits over the hospital and allow SUNY to stop running LICH by May.
A judge in the case is giving the sides until 10 p.m. Friday to submit their paperwork.
“There are some days that are claimed to be historic but aren’t. There are other days that are truly historic. This is one of the latter. This is a truly historic moment, a transcendent moment for health care in New York City,” de Blasio said.
The bidding process for new owners will start again, and only proposals that include what’s being called a “major health care component” will be considered.
A community representative will take part in the selection process.
The mayor said that this is only the beginning, as the same formula will be applied to other communities in need of their local hospital.
“When you make history, when you set a precedent, you have to then apply that precedent,” de Blasio said. “We’re going to apply that precedent with Interfaith [Medical Center]. We’re are going to now get to work, all of us, to make sure there is a long-term sustainable plan for health care in the Interfaith community and then continue to use this model wherever a hospital may be in danger.”
If there is not a qualified bid by March 22, LICH will close.
SUNY had been trying to shut down LICH for more than a year, saying it’s losing millions of dollars per month.
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