State University of New York Downstate Medical Center announced plans Monday to lay off 500 employees at Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Long Island College Hospital, but those plans have now been postponed, according to a Brooklyn Eagle report.
The plans were delayed following announcements by the New York State Nurses Association and 1199 SEIU Healthcare Workers East that they would seek a court injunction to halt the layoffs, according to the report.
"We are very pleased that SUNY backed away from its threatened layoffs and that the hospital remains open for care," Jill Furillo, executive director of NYSNA, said, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.
When the layoff plans were initially announced Monday, a SUNY Downstate spokesperson said the hospital was attempting to align staffing levels to reflect lower patient volumes and limited services at LICH, according to a Crain's New York Business report.
LICH has been close to closure throughout 2013, starting in January when an audit from New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found SUNY Downstate and LICH were close to insolvency. SUNY Downstate made multiple attempts to close LICH and a closure plan was approved by the New York State Department of Health in July. However, SUNY Downstate was ordered to partially restore services at LICH in August.