It would appear that we may lose our neighborhood hospital after all. Long Island College Hospital has been part of this community since 1858, but the last few years have been unkind to this institution. After a disastrous merger with Continuum Health Partners, which bled LICH dry and sold off millions in real estate owned by the hospital to funnel the money to its more prestigious Manhattan institutions, the medical facility was ready to fold in 2008.
A divorce from Continuum and a merger with SUNY Down State Medical Center was supposed to safe LICH. This now looks unlikely. According to an article in today's NY Times, Governor Cuomo's administration is delaying the $22 million dollars in state grants to help finance the merger. The delay may mean that LICH will run out of money by mid-March.
Though certainly not the most up-to-date medical facility, this growing community needs LICH. It is unrealistic to think that Methodist Hospital can absorb all the overflow or that everyone will be able to make the trip into Manhattan in an emergency.
From The New York Times:
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