A group of Brooklyn pols is working together to save Long Island College Hospital (LICH). Yesterday, Continuum Health Partners, the parent company of LICH announced that it would terminate one hundred
employees and eliminate another fifty open positions. In
recent months, LICH has submitted plans to close its maternity ward,
pediatrics department, rape crisis center, and dentistry program in an
effort to reduce costs. Here’s today’s press release:
Without
a sound financial plan for LICH’s future and meaningful community
involvement in this process, Brooklyn residents have no way of knowing
if this is only a cutback in service or the prelude to closing the
hospital. As the population of Downtown Brooklyn
is projected to increase by over 24,000 residents over the next four
years, Long Island College Hospital will play an increasingly important
role in ensuring that Brooklyn residents have access to high quality
health care.
Congresswomen
Nydia Velazquez and Yvette Clarke, Congressman Ed Towns, Assembly
Members Joan Millman, Hakeem Jeffries and Felix Ortiz, Brooklyn Borough
President Marty Markowitz, Council Members Bill de Blasio, Letitia
James and David Yassky, the Cobble Hill Association, the Brooklyn
Heights Association, the Boerum Hill Association, and the Carroll
Gardens Neighborhood Association, together with the doctors and nurses
at LICH, are continuing the fight to keep Long Island College Hospital
as a full-service neighborhood hospital.
If you would like to support our efforts, you can:
- Sign the petition online: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/SaveLICH
- Send a letter to Governor Paterson’s office. Just cut and paste from the petition. Then, call 718-854-9791 or email tagray1@gmail.com to see what else you can do.
Thank you for your assistance in working to save Long Island College Hospital.