Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., continues its fight to stay open, and yesterday, a New York State Supreme Court judge ordered that its former owners reclaim the struggling hospital, according to a New York Times report.
Judge Carolyn Demarest criticized LICH's current owner, State University of New York and SUNY Downstate Medical Center, saying there was a "lack of due diligence" in transferring ownership. In 2011, SUNY Downstate took over LICH from New York City-based Continuum Health Partners, which had threatened to close the hospital.
In a statement to the Times, Continuum CEO Stanley Brezenoff said the system "is unable to take responsibility for [LICH's] operations" and does not intend to resume management, according to the report.
LICH has been on the brink of closure all year. Problems started in January, when an audit from New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that LICH and SUNY Downstate were close to insolvency. SUNY Downstate has made repeated attempts to close LICH, and last month, the New York State Department of Health actually approved a plan to shutter the hospital.
However, many physicians, nurses and community members have fought to keep LICH open, which has also become an issue in the city's mayoral race.
If Continuum does not take over LICH, the judge said the state would appoint a caretaker or receiver to manage the hospital's operations.
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