Union Health Care Workers Blast Plans To Close Brooklyn Hospitals

By: Roger Clark

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Union health care workers gathered Wednesday morning to protest proposals to shut down medical centers outside a forum focusing on the financial difficulties facing the borough's hospitals. NY1's Roger Clark filed the following report.

Before it was even light out, hundreds of union members from SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Kingsboro Psychiatric center were out in front of the Brooklyn Marriott Hotel.

"The report does not recognize issues that pertain to real people," said Rowena Blackman-Stroud of United University Professions.

Blackman-Stroud was referring to a report released in November from Governor Andrew Cuomo's Medicaid redesign team Brooklyn Work Group. It recommends closing Kingsboro and consolidating SUNY Downstate inpatient services at Long Island College Hospital, also known as LICH, which recently merged with Downstate.

Protestors say hundreds if not thousands of jobs are at stake. They targeted investment banker and work group chairman Stephen Berger, who was attending a Crain's breakfast forum discussing the future of Brooklyn's hospitals.

"What they don't take into consideration are the people in the community who have lived in the community for years, who support these services and need these services, so we're here today to tell Steve Berger, go away," said Public Employees Federation Vice President Patricia Baker.

"We have to be concerned about the consumer, the patients that are going to be affected and their families," said CSEA Metropolitan Region 2 President Lester Crockett.

The union workers were joined by some members of the Occupy Wall Street movement, including some who are licensed doctors.

"I believe we are unified here today because we know that the community should drive changes in the health care system. It should not be driven by Wall Street," said demonstrator Bill Jordan.

When asked about the concerns of protestors, Berger was straightforward in saying they were wrong.

"I think we know that Kingsboro is going to close. It's going to close sooner or later and I think from the point of view of SUNY, I think they have the LICH facility, they ought to use that facility," said Berger.

The New York State Department of Health says now that the work group has made its recommendations it's awaiting proposals from anyone concerned as to the best way to meet the goals and the community's needs.