Health Boroughwide

Maimonides Medical Center, New York Community Hospital to merge

March 11, 2020 Paula Katinas
Photo courtesy of Maimonides Medical Center
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SOUTHERN BROOKlYN — Southwest Brooklyn’s health care system is about to undergo a major change as two venerable institutions, Maimonides Medical Center and New York Community Hospital, announced plans to “integrate” their two organizations.

While the official announcement jointly issued by the two hospitals did not mention the word “merger,” Kenneth Gibbs, president and CEO of Maimonides Medical Center, told the Home Reporter that the two medical institutions were indeed entering into a type of merger.

“We are coming together and we are in the process of working out a governance structure,” he told this newspaper on Wednesday.

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Over the coming months, the two hospitals will be engaging in discussions with their respective communities, workforces, labor unions and physicians to work out the details.

Gibbs said he was confident that it would take less than six months to develop a governing arrangement.

But any deal between Maimonides Medical Center and New York Community Hospital to integrate the two hospitals would require the approval of the New York State Department of Health.

It’s not clear if either hospital will be changing its name.

Maimonides Medical Center is a 711-bed non-profit tertiary care provider located at 4802 10th Ave. in Borough Park. It is the largest hospital in Brooklyn. Founded in 1911, Maimonides is an affiliate of Northwell Health.

New York Community Hospital, which was founded in 1929, is a 134-bed non-profit acute care hospital at 2525 Kings Highway in Midwood.

The agreement between the two hospitals will give Brooklyn residents the opportunity to receive a full range of health care services within the borough, close to home, officials said. It will also enhance New York Community Hospital’s role as a provider of a range of specialty services and will strengthen Maimonides’ role as a tertiary care destination for patients across Brooklyn.

“We have always believed that the best care is local care,” Gibbs told the Home Reporter.

The two hospitals began the process of coming together in 2018 when they launched a clinical collaboration agreement that saw Maimonides specialists providing services at the New York Community campus.

The two staffs got along beautifully, officials said.

“It has worked out so well, we decided to take this additional step,” Gibbs said. “Most integration agreements are directed from the top down, and the staffs have to adjust. This is happening from the bottom up.”

Barry Stern, CEO of New York Community Hospital, said integrating his hospital with Maimonides Medical Center is a positive step.

“Our partnership with Maimonides Medical Center has demonstrated how collaboration can benefit both organizations and the communities we serve. We are excited to take this next step with Maimonides to further strengthen services for New York Community Hospital’s surrounding communities,” Stern said in a statement.

“The partnership between Maimonides and New York Community Hospital is another example of Brooklyn institutions working together to ensure access to high-quality care as the borough’s healthcare system evolves,” said LaRay Brown, CEO of One Brooklyn Health and board chair for Community Care of Brooklyn IPA, of which Maimonides, New York Community and One Brooklyn Health are members.


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