Downstate is also a vital pipeline for training physicians, both locally and nationally. More New York City physicians graduated from Downstate than from any other medical school. With 1,040 medical residents (young physicians in training), Downstate’s residency program is the 16th largest in the country. Downstate also trains the medical educators who will teach the next generation of doctors. The hospital is ranked 8th nationally in the number of alumni teaching at American medical schools.

For those reasons and so many more, SUNY Downstate is a cornerstone of Brooklyn and a pillar of the medical community in New York State and beyond. Shutting down Downstate would cause irreparable damage to health care in New York and across the United States. Closing this hospital would tarnish the Empire State’s reputation as a leader in education, research, and medicine. 

Many myths about SUNY’s closure plan have been shared with the community, staff, students, and patients. Let’s examine some of those and discuss the realities of what will happen if this plan moves forward. 

MYTH #1: In a recent interview, SUNY Chancellor John King, Jr. said, “No one is talking about closing Downstate.”

REALITY: Implying that the SUNY plan will result in anything other than closing Downstate is misleading and disingenuous. If you told a group of students that you weren’t closing their school but rather “transforming” it, and that transformation meant you would tear down the school building, fire half the staff, and relocate some students to other, yet-to-be-determined places, they would say their school was being closed. If the SUNY Downstate Hospital building is demolished or used for another purpose, it means there will be no hospital. 

MYTH #2: Kings County Hospital has the space to open a wing for SUNY Downstate services and has agreed to do so.

REALITY: This point has been refuted by nearly everyone working at Downstate and Kings County hospitals. These are the doctors, nurses, and other health professionals with first-hand knowledge of the physical space and the number of people they can accommodate. They are the ones treating patients every day. 

In fact, leadership at King’s County publicly declared they had no forewarning or knowledge about SUNY’s plan. If they had been consulted, they would have informed SUNY that they were already over capacity in terms of patients. They have no space to absorb additional patients and certainly no space to accommodate some 1,200 residents, 1,000 medical students, and more than 2,300 hospital staff. 

MYTH #3: Some services, including the highly specialized kidney transplant program (the only one of its kind available in Brooklyn), could go to Maimonides Medical Center.  

REALITY: SUNY Downstate has saved and transformed thousands of lives since performing its first kidney transplant in 1965. Today, Downstate is one of the most active transplant programs in New York State and the only one in Brooklyn. Patients awaiting life-saving kidney transplants were not consulted before SUNY announced its plan to close Downstate, nor were their caregivers. Moving this essential program out of Central Brooklyn will result in long-term, negative health outcomes for countless individuals. Patients will face lengthy commutes to an area that is, at times, hostile to people of color. Finally, other hospitals outside of Brooklyn may not have the auxiliary services needed for successful transplant care.

MYTH #4: “All services, including maternity care, will continue somewhere.” This statement is in the Chancellor’s testimony before the Assembly Joint Legislative budget hearing on Health earlier this year in Albany.

REALITY: The Chancellor has stated privately and publicly that at least 20% of United University Professions (UUP) members would lose their jobs if SUNY’s plan to close the hospital becomes reality. UUP, the largest union at Downstate, represents a wide range of job titles at Downstate Hospital, and all of them involve the delivery of health care services. If, as the Chancellor says, all services are to be maintained, how will that happen if 20% of the employees responsible for that care are let go? And where exactly would they be maintained? The loss of so many specially trained and skilled staff will have a severely negative impact on many vulnerable groups, including pregnant women.

The expectant mothers of Brooklyn face unequal opportunities and outcomes in terms of maternal health care. In New York City, Black women are nine times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth than white women. The women of Brooklyn deserve better, and world-class maternal health care facilities are realistic and attainable. Downstate’s capacity in this area has been grossly underutilized and should be expanded. Reducing the number of maternity beds available in Brooklyn will only further exacerbate the disparities in care for Black women. 

MYTH #5: Outpatient services will get new clinics as part of the enhancements at the medical college. 

REALITY: Several expert faculty members from SUNY Downstate Medical College have noted that without inpatient care, outpatient care will not be financially sustainable. Where does this leave us?

MYTH #6: The medical college will be enhanced by a new student center. 

REALITY: Downstate medical students wrote to the Governor in early April, informing her that they didn’t want this new center, which has been rumored to be in the works for nearly 20 years. They want the hospital to remain open so they can learn at Downstate, which has top-notch training and a diverse patient mix.

United University Professions

United University Professions, UUP, is the nation’s largest higher education union, representing the faculty and professional staff of the SUNY system (referred to as professional faculty in the contract). This encompasses the 29 comprehensive, technical, specialized and university centers of SUNY. The 29 campuses are broken into 32 chapters. These chapters include the campuses shown above, as well as separate chapters for Buffalo Health Science Center, Stony Brook Health Science Center and System Administration.

UUP is Local 2190 of the statewide union, New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) and the national union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).