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Brad calls for LICH to remain a full-service community hospital

Brad calls for LICH to remain a full-service community hospital

Testimony of Brad Lander

Co-Chair, Housing & Human Services Committee, Community Board 6

Regarding Long Island College Hospital

November 10, 2008

Borough President Markowitz and our other Brooklyn elected officials, thank you for the opportunity to submit this testimony regarding the crisis at Long Island College Hospital.  

As co-chair of the Human Services and Housing Committee of Community Board 6, I have heard from so many people over the past few months about how critical LICH is to our community – people whose children were born or cared for there, who have relied on LICH in times of great need.  My own son Marek was treated there for bronchiolits when he was just one year old, referred to LICH by our pediatrician after we first went to the emergency room at another local hospital.

For more than 150 years, LICH has been one of the anchors of this community. Families in our community depend on a strong LICH. We cannot abide Continuum Health Partners turning its back on the families in our community, at a time when our community is growing.

I am especially disturbed by several features of the current crisis:

 

1. Continuum does not seem to feel sufficient responsibility to the “community” aspects of this community hospital. For generations, community-serving hospitals have engaged in a balance, with those services that make the most helping to cover the cost of those services that are needed in the community, but are not as profitable. But Continuum seems to believe it is an acceptable solution to eliminate services that serve the community, and to focus only on profitable services. A glaring example of this is the rape crisis program. Of course this is not going to “make money.” It is run on a state grant, designed simply to cover the costs of the program. But because it is not a money-maker, Continuum seeks to eliminate it. This is not an acceptable approach for solving the financial crisis that LICH faces in a manner that preserves its fundamental purpose.
2. Neither Continuum nor, perhaps more importantly, the NYS Department of Health has given our community a sufficient voice in this process. Continuum has consistently presented its decisions to end vital services – obstetrics, pediatrics, dental, and the rape crisis program – and lay off staff as a “done deal.” They did not reach out to our community to seek alternatives. And our public agency, the NYS DOH, has not made an effort to hear from or work with our community either. While I appreciate this forum held by the Borough President, and while Community Board 6 held a forum attended by nearly 200 people back in September, these are no substitute for a hearing held by the agency charged with making this decision. DOH should hold a public hearing in the community, at which members of the public have the opportunity to testify. And they should be working closely with our elected officials, with other health care institutions, and other stakeholders, in an effort to find a solution which meets both financial and community bottom lines.

 

I join with many others in this community in calling upon the New York State Department of Health to do everything in its power to save LICH as a community hospital. Many creative solutions have been put forward in recent months. The medical staff, led by Dr. Arnold Licht and Dr. Toomas Sorra, have put forward a credible plan, identifying cost reductions and management efficiencies to save LICH as a full-service community hospital. Others have discussed a partnership with SUNY Downstate, or another health care institution. And our elected officials have pledged to help seek the necessary resources.

We need the Department of Health to work with our elected officials and other stakeholders on a bold new plan to achieve the following:

 

• Maintain LICH as a full-service community hospital, with the range of services our community needs.
• Provide genuine community leadership and input, through a restructured board of trustees that has both a fiduciary duty, and a responsibility to our community. While Continuum has recently, in a far-too-little-too-late move, started to establish a community advisory board, we need something far more significant, which gives the community a real stake, not just a place to complain about decisions that Continuum has already made.
• Consider the full range of potential partnerships, including the possibility of a merger with another hospital or network.
• Take every available financial step, including not only cost reductions and management efficiencies, but also debt restructuring and reorganization to enable a successful workout.

 

I firmly believe that with the right leadership, there is a pathway to address debt and lead to a successful recovery. Many hospitals have endured and emerged from financial difficulties, often in communities with far fewer resources than we have. In some cases, hospitals have emerged with a strong plan for moving forward, having restructured and renegotiated their debt.

LICH has persevered for 150 years, and we cannot let Continuum dismantle it after 10 years in their network. I am confident, with real leadership, we can insure that LICH can both serve our community and prosper financially. Thank you.

 

NOTE: This is personal testimony, and does not represent an official position of Community Board Six.