LICH ER is no longer accepting patients; SUNY Downstate in violation of court order
Following SUNY Downstate’s order yesterday to stop all ambulances and EMS personnel from bringing patients to Long Island College Hospital (LICH) as of 6 a.m. today, Downstate’s John F. Williams has been ordered to appear in court on Monday, July 15, at 2:30 p.m. for violating a restraining order mandating that LICH staffing levels and patient services remain intact until the courts and state health department decide the hospital’s fate.
State Supreme Court Justice Johnny Lee Baynes issued the restraining order in March and upheld it in April following SUNY Downstate’s attempt to close the 155-year-old community hospital that it purchased in 2011, but soon decided was too expensive to maintain. Downstate recently withdrew the closure plan and proposed an alternate plan that would involve selling LICH to another hospital system, but continued to make cuts to staffing and services.
Justice Baynes has reportedly also scheduled a conference with lawyers from both LICH and SUNY Downstate for Monday, June 24, to review the situation.