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By Amanda D’Ambrosio
Hospital faculty, faith leaders and community members aiming to thwart a potential closure of SUNY Downstate have unveiled a plan to preserve hospital services.
The proposal calls for state officials to preserve hospital beds at the East Flatbush teaching hospital, countering a plan put forth by Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this year to move all services that require a hospital stay to other Brooklyn medical centers and turn Downstate into an outpatient hub. It also suggests that the state invests in critical emergency services, maternity care and Downstate’s kidney transplant program – the only program of its kind in Brooklyn – to prevent gaps in care for the low-income patients and people of color that the hospital serves.
The plan was released Tuesday by Brooklyn for Downstate, a coalition formed earlier this year to stop the state from significantly downsizing the cash-strapped hospital. It marks the first comprehensive proposal that has emerged in opposition to the state’s plan, which was put on hold during budget negotiations earlier this year.
The state in April conceded to community members’ opposition to the hospital’s closure, putting plans on ice until an advisory panel submits formal recommendations to improve the facility before the next budget is due. But as the April 1 deadline approaches, faith leaders and health care workers are pushing officials to develop a plan that can both keep critical hospital services intact while ensuring the safety-net facility remains financially viable.
“Inpatient beds are crucial,” said Bishop Orlando Findlayter, senior pastor of the New Hope Christian Fellowship in East Flatbush and member of the coalition. “We may not need as many inpatient beds, but we absolutely need inpatient beds.”
Holly Liapis, a spokeswoman for SUNY, said that as a member of the advisory panel, “SUNY looks forward to reviewing this report and collaborating with our fellow board members to consider all possible recommendations for investing up to $750 million in capital funding to secure a strong and sustainable future for Downstate, as laid out in the enacted budget.”
A spokesperson for the governor’s office did not comment on the proposal.
The plan states that Downstate could cut its inpatient capacity from 342 to 250 to reduce the hospital’s costs. But it maintained that moving all inpatient services to surrounding hospitals, including New York City Health + Hospitals/Kings County, would result in gaps in care and potential health hazards for the East Flatbush community, exacerbated by a series of hospital closures in recent years.
The coalition’s proposal also recommends that the state renovate Downstate’s emergency department to include an observation unit and two certified trauma centers for pediatric and adult patients. The emergency room currently sees 50,000 patients a year, and any reduction in emergency services could worsen overcrowding and long wait times that also plague surrounding hospitals. The average emergency room wait time in Brooklyn was four hours in 2022, data shows.
Community members also urged the state to preserve Downstate as one of Brooklyn’s only two regional perinatal centers, which provide services to people with high-risk pregnancies and are viewed as a way to mitigate the maternal mortality crisis.
The coalition said data “clearly demonstrates that the closure of Downstate would negatively impact community health and increase disparities in health outcomes for minority populations.” It did not outline how much the proposal to preserve hospital services would cost.
The coalition’s plan comes one week after Hochul named an advisory board to help the state decide the future of SUNY Downstate. The commission, mandated by a law passed in the most recent state budget, will submit recommendations by April 1 outlining how the state should spend up to $750 million to improve services at the hospital.
The state-appointed board will consider all proposals and input from the community and is expected to hold its first meeting later this month, according to the governor’s office.
The advisory board has just under four months to make recommendations for Downstate based on its finances and patient volume. Community members and elected officials say that’s a tight timeline to put together a comprehensive plan for the future of the teaching hospital, but remain cautiously optimistic about what the panel will put together.
“We’re hoping the work can get done,” said Redetha Abraham-Nichols, chapter president of the union United University Professions, which represents more than 2,000 workers at Downstate, and member of the community coalition. “But if not, we are hoping to see what they say. We’re submitting our plan. Maybe they can use that.”