Albany, NY – Will Chairman Farrell yield for a few questions regarding part of this budget bill which focuses on the funding and restructuring of SUNY Downstate Medical Center located in Brooklyn? Recent audits from the State Comptroller’s Office show the hospital is over $100 million dollars in the red. Between May, 2012 and September, 2012 the Hospital relied on $65 million that it drew down from the SUNY Hospital Operations Fund. In June, 2012 the SUNY Board of Trustees approved a line of credit of $75 million dollars which they must begin repaying in October, 2015.
My question Mr. Farrell – is the extra funding for SUNY contained in this budget? And, if the restructuring plan is not approved Mr. Farrell then who approves this plan? Is it the legislature? What happens then?
My second question concerns the proposal by the SUNY Board of Trustees to close Long Island College Hospital (LICH). This is a 150 year old community hospital that SUNY acquired in May, 2011. Less than two years later, it is claimed that LICH can’t turn a profit and can’t be saved. Crain’s Business reported on February 7, 2013 that SUNY plans to use the proceeds from the sale of LICH to build a new hospital elsewhere in Brooklyn. Estimates from the sale of LICH’s property range from $500 million to $1 billion. Certainly this windfall would go a long way to solving SUNY’s fiscal issues.
Mr. Farrell, is there language in this bill which provides any relief for LICH or is it silent on the SUNY proposal to sell LICH, fire over 2,000 employees, and close an Emergency Room that had 1,000 visits between December, 2012 and January 2013?
While I support most of the provisions in the bill I shall be voting NO on this bill for all the reasons discussed above.
