Report details vital care offered by SUNY Downstate University Hospital compared to other hospitals and why closing Downstate would be a health care disaster for Brooklyn and includes recommendations to ensure Downstate’s future viability
Click Here for Video and Here for Photos from the Rally and Announcement
BROOKLYN, NY – Members of the Brooklyn for Downstate community coalition joined dozens of concerned community members at a rally today outside SUNY Downstate University Hospital to share the findings of a detailed and comprehensive report on the state of healthcare in Brooklyn.
The report also includes a series of recommendations to ensure and sustain the hospital’s future viability.
The report focuses on the healthcare landscape in Brooklyn, the vital services provided by Downstate Hospital, and how Downstate compares to other hospitals, including Kings County. It details how every facility is at or near full capacity and would be unable to absorb Downstate’s closure without serious negative consequences for Brooklyn residents.
Highlights of the report include:
- Brooklyn residents have high rates of uninsured residents compared to other parts of New York City and New York State;
- High emergency care wait times at neighboring hospitals, along with a significant lack of transportation options—and lengthy commutes—to other hospitals;
- Brooklyn is facing a maternal mortality crisis with high utilization rates at all hospitals; the demand for maternal, perinatal and OB/GYN care at Downstate is in high demand;
- Downstate Hospital is the only licensed transplant service provider in Kings County;
- The Brooklyn community has high rates of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes.
The report also listed a series of recommendations that will lead to a “stronger fiscal position for the hospital and better health outcomes” for patients. The recommendations include:
- Keeping inpatient services intact while reducing the number of inpatient beds from 342 to 250;
- Renovating Downstate’s Emergency Department to include an observation unit and Adult and Pediatric trauma centers;
- Renovating the maternal/OB/GYN service area to include single-occupancy labor and delivery and postpartum inpatient rooms with bathrooms; a reduction of NICU inpatient beds and supporting outpatient units for primary and preventative care; and
- Maintaining a Regional Perinatal Center and reestablishing cardiothoracic and cardiac surgery clinical programs.
Speakers at the rally conveyed some of the report’s main findings to the business owners, residents, healthcare workers, union members, students and faith leaders in attendance.
This was the latest in a series of gatherings since Brooklyn for Downstate formed this fall. The purpose of the group is to create a forum for everyone in Brooklyn to have a say about the future of SUNY Downstate Hospital. In May, the Governor announced the creation of a state-appointed advisory board to make recommendations for the hospital’s future. That board was announced Nov. 25.
“Closing SUNY Downstate Hospital is NOT the answer. This report puts on paper what those of us who live and work in the community have known for a long time: We are already underserved in healthcare, with long wait times and a lack of critical services, said Redetha Abraham-Nichols, DNP, MRA, RN. “Closing SUNY Downstate will result in people going without life-saving treatments. It is fitting that we’re releasing this report on Giving Tuesday, a day of reflection and selflessness. We are working to heal our community, support the next generation of New Yorkers, and provide services that our neighbors need. Meanwhile, the SUNY Chancellor refuses to give Brooklynites the time of day. He seems to have decided to take away our hospital even though the data shows it will harm people, and the community says we need it.”
“I’m delighted to stand with our community and demand equity in health care for Central Brooklyn,” said Bishop Orlando Findlayter, Community Activist, Founder and Senior Pastor, New Hope Christian Fellowship. “For us, that means saving SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Downstate is crucial and must remain open. We eagerly anticipate the first meeting of the advisory board and look forward to these public sessions.”
“The wonderful thing about this report is that it is based on real data. It’s not just somebody’s idea about what will be a good thing for a building or an existing facility,” said Rabbi Eli Cohen, Executive Director, Crown Heights Jewish Community Council. “The report is saying, this is what Brooklyn needs right now. We don’t need to start from scratch. We have the answer to the needs that we’ve identified.”
“As pastor and faith leader for a historic congregation in Central Brooklyn, we recognize the importance of SUNY Downstate University Hospital as the premier institution providing access to the very best health care for thousands of people each year,” said Rev. Kirkpatrick Cohall Ph.D., Senior Pastor, Lenox Baptist Church. “Therefore, we urge all key stakeholders to come together to ensure that this vital institution remains solidly funded in order to carry out the mission of caring and improving the lives of our diverse community.”
“SUNY Downstate is a pivotal healthcare and research institution in Brooklyn,” said Rev. Andrew Wilkes, Ph.D., Co-Pastor, Double Love Experience Church. “Members and neighbors of my congregation, and those of countless faith communities across Kings County, specifically in Flatbush, depend on SUNY Downstate as a centerpiece of their family wellness strategy. It should be fully, sustainably funded — and every effort should be made to craft budget priorities that set it up for long-term thriving and continued innovation. That’s what I’m praying for and working towards in our community. I hope our policymakers are, too.”
More information about Brooklyn for Downstate and the full report can be found here.
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Brooklyn for Downstate
Brooklyn for Downstate is a nonprofit organization dedicated to uniting the voices of the Brooklyn community in pursuit of a high-quality, thriving, and modern SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Hospital. Led by a steering committee of community activists and health care leaders, Brooklyn for Downstate stands committed to ensuring that SUNY Downstate remains open as a freestanding, state-operated public teaching hospital and continues to serve the significant numbers of uninsured, underserved, and historically marginalized populations of Brooklyn. Learn more at: www.brooklynfordownstate.com.