Rally to Keep Our Hospitals Open for Care
Wed, Jun 19, 2013 at 12:00 PM
The Brooklyn healthcare crisis cannot be used as an excuse to allow Wall Street to take over our hospitals. Right now, New York State does not allow for-profit corporations to run hospitals. But that could all change if the SUNY Downstate Sustainability Plan, or other state legislation, opens the doors for private equity firms and publically traded corporations to take control of our hospitals.
Albany legislators are debating a Brooklyn hospital program bill to establish an undefined corporation that would act as a hospital holding company – this could include a publicly traded corporation. Allowing for-profit corporations to operate our hospitals would threaten patients in our state – Wall Street ran our economy off a cliff and now they want to run our hospitals.
Other states like Texas and Mississippi have experimented with letting for-profit corporations run hospitals. Patient care has suffered. Emergency rooms get more crowded and patients have to wait longer to see a doctor. Nurse and caregiver staffing drops to unsafe levels – meaning that patients can’t get the care we need. There’s even evidence that patient deaths increase, according to a study from Duke University.
The SUNY Plan isn’t the only proposal that would allow Wall Street to take over New York hospitals – there is also a bill in the Senate that would create five pilot projects allowing private equity firms to invest in hospitals.
Struggling Brooklyn hospitals, like University Hospital of Brooklyn, Long Island College Hospital, and Interfaith Medical Center, in medically underserved communities of color will be the center of any for-profit experiment.
The Brooklyn healthcare crisis cannot be used as an excuse to allow for-profit corporations to take over our hospitals. Brooklyn is the fastest growing borough in New York City, and we should be investing in quality care for our expanding population instead of cutting services. The 37,000 nurses of NYSNA and other Brooklyn healthcare advocates are calling for a moratorium on all hospital closures in the borough.
We’re encouraged that Governor Cuomo is seeking federal assistance for financially distressed Brooklyn hospitals and we will continue to work with state and federal elected leaders on solutions to secure funding to keep our hospitals open for care without sacrificing them to profit-driven private equity firms.
When:
12 noon, Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Who:
The New York State Nurses Association, Brooklyn patients, healthcare advocates, and elected leaders.
What:
Rally & speakout to condemn proposal to allow Wall Street to take over Brooklyn hospitals and experiment in low-income communities of color. Healthcare advocates are calling on a moratorium on all Brooklyn hospital closures – including Long Island College Hospital and Interfaith Medical Center – and a commitment from our elected leaders to put patient care before corporate profits.
Where:
Long Island College Hospital, 339 Hicks Street (near Atlantic)