NY-Presbyterian becomes ‘active parent’ of Park Slope’s NY-Methodist Hospital

Methodist now ‘NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital’

December 13, 2016 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

New York Methodist Hospital in Park Slope has “a new relationship” with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Shown: The newly-renamed Brooklyn Methodist Hospital’s inpatient buildings. Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Methodist Hospital

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New York Methodist Hospital in Park Slope has a “new relationship” with the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital network.

NewYork-Presbyterian says it has become the “active parent” of New York Methodist, which has been renamed NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.

The change was recently approved by the New York State Department of Health.

“While NewYork-Presbyterian has worked closely with New York Methodist for many years, this new relationship will allow us to expand and enhance access in a number of key areas,” Dr. Steven Corwin, president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian, said in a statement.

Mark Mundy, longtime president and chief executive officer of the newly-named Brooklyn Methodist, added, “By joining with NewYork-Presbyterian in this new relationship, we’re offering our patients increased access to some of the best clinicians in the world, right in their own backyard.”

Mundy announced in September that he would be stepping down as president and CEO of the hospital.

Brooklyn Methodist spokeswoman Lyn Hill told the Brooklyn Eagle that Brooklyn Methodist “became a member of the New York Hospital Care Network (now NewYork-Presbyterian Regional Hospital Network) in 1993 and has had a close relationship with NYP and with the Weill Cornell Medical College (now called Weill Cornell Medicine) since that time.”

“Under the new active parent relationship, NYP will now have an active role in the oversight of hospital areas such as quality, technology, and facilities,” she said.

Besides an expansion of primary and ambulatory care programs, the new relationship will bring increased access to specialty care to Brooklyn, Hill said.

$315 million loan from NY-Presbyterian for new ambulatory care center

NY-Presbyterian will be loaning millions of dollars to Brooklyn Methodist for their new $400 million ambulatory care building, across from its main hospital on Sixth Street in the Slope. The hospital has started excavation and foundation work at the site.

In August, Fitch Ratings reported that the project was being funded primarily with debt and equity and a smaller amount from donations. Brooklyn Methodist is borrowing $315 million of the required $400 million from NY-Presbyterian, Fitch said.

Before the loan, Brooklyn Methodist was “very lightly leveraged,” according to Fitch. The additional debt will bring Brooklyn Methodist’s debt rating to the ‘A-‘ level.

Patient volume, overcrowding up at Methodist

Brooklyn Methodist is considered one of Brooklyn’s top hospitals, but the closure of other Brooklyn hospitals, including Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in Cobble Hill, has put pressure on Methodist.

Three-month 2016 results show inpatient volume up 5.2 percent year over year, according to Fitch.

Brooklyn Methodist was designated a Level II trauma center in 2015, which should increase inpatient volume even more. DOH awarded the designation following a year’s worth of preparation and facility upgrades by Methodist.

Designation as a trauma center means a hospital is able to provide life-saving care across all emergency scenarios, and has a continuous process in place for monitoring and improving that care.

This includes 24-hour immediate coverage by general surgeons, as well as the availability of specialists in fields like general and orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery and emergency medicine.

Most of Brooklyn Methodist’s admissions come from the emergency department. Patients and hospital staff have reported long waits for admission following visits to the ER.

Some employees at Brooklyn Methodist have expressed fears that their jobs will be lost in the takeover.

Hill told the Eagle, “It is not anticipated that any jobs will be lost as a result of this transition.”

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is ranked number one in the New York metropolitan area by U.S. News and World Report.

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Update 6:15 p.m.: The relationship change should not be characterized as a “takeover,” Hill told the Eagle, since New York Methodist “entered into the initial agreement with NYP in 1993.”