(BROOKLYN, NEW YORK) – The State University of New York’s (SUNY) plan to make drastic changes in the structure and operation of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University will instead undermine the hospital’s central mission and the Brooklyn communities it serves, United University Professions (UUP), the Nation’s largest Higher Education Union, says.

UUP President Frederick Kowal said SUNY’s plan would essentially relegate the Safety Net Hospital to a wing in Kings County Hospital Center and other health care services would be farmed out to neighboring hospitals.

This will unequivocally result in the closure of SUNY Downstate, UUP said.

UUP represents more than 2,300 Workers at SUNY Downstate.

Said Kowal: “SUNY is calling its vision for Downstate a transformation, but it is anything but that.  Let’s call this what it is: SUNY is closing Downstate.  If you moved the programs offered at my home campus, SUNY Cobleskill, to nearby colleges and turned the campus into a shopping center, do you still have a SUNY Cobleskill?  Of course not.  And that’s what’s happening at Downstate.  If there is no building, there is no hospital.”

Kowal criticized SUNY for its failure to schedule - or even mention holding - public hearings or forums to gather community input about its plans for the hospital: “This is a radical plan for the hospital that will undoubtedly harm the health of the Central Brooklyn Community.  It is unthinkable that it has not been subject to a full public hearing that would give stakeholders an opportunity to have their say about the future of this vital institution.”

As a Public Teaching Hospital, SUNY Downstate treats all patients who walk through its doors, including patients without insurance or are unable to pay for care.

It also provides state-of-the-art procedures that other hospitals can’t or don’t offer.

The vast majority of Downstate’s patients - nearly 90% - are on Medicaid, are underinsured or have no health insurance.

Said Kowal: "How can you pull from this community a hospital this is so needed and so necessary?  Central Brooklyn is a diverse, underserved community that relies on the health care SUNY Downstate provides.  We remain hopeful that Governor (Kathy) Hochul will not let this happen.  This is the State’s hospital.  Our patients, the Central Brooklyn Community and our members are counting on the state to do the right thing and save SUNY Downstate.”

To Continue Reading This Labor News Report, Go To: Brooklyn needs SUNY Downstate: UUP slams SUNY’s plan to shutter its Brooklyn teaching hospital (uupinfo.org)