Amidst LICH chaos, 81-year-old patient falls through the cracks
Attorney General investigating case of Celso Heredia
An 81-year-old man suffering from dementia, Celso Heredia, disappeared from Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, on Wednesday, on a day when 650 staffers there were placed on administrative leave by SUNY Downstate, which is trying to close down LICH.
According to the NYPD, Heredia, who does not speak English, was last seen at LICH at 3:45 p.m. wearing a blue plaid shirt, blue jeans, and a baseball cap. Heredia was the subject of several news articles in June after he was discovered wandering along the BQE with $300 dollars in his pocket.
Doctors and nurses have submitted affidavits stating they have been fighting SUNY Downstate’s attempts to transfer patients out of LICH since a court order was issued by an Appellate Court judge requiring Downstate to maintain services at LICH at last Friday’s level.