Rally focuses on report that underscores importance of SUNY Downstate Hospital

December 4, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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FLATBUSH — THE FUTURE OF DOWNSTATE MEDICAL CENTER and healthcare in Brooklyn were the focus of a rally that took place outside the hospital on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Members of the Brooklyn for Downstate community coalition joined dozens of concerned community members the rally to share the findings of a detailed and comprehensive report on the state of healthcare in Brooklyn, examining the healthcare landscape in Brooklyn, the vital services provided by Downstate Hospital, comparing it to other hospitals, including neighboring Kings County Medical Center, which is part of New York City’s public hospital system. For example, SUNY Downstate is the only licensed transplant service provider in Kings County.

The report details how every facility is at or near full capacity and would be unable to absorb Downstate’s closure without serious negative consequences for Brooklyn residents, a situation also referred to as being “on burden.”

The report also listed a series of recommendations: Keeping inpatient services intact while reducing the number of inpatient beds, renovating Downstate’s Emergency Department to include an observation unit and Adult and Pediatric trauma centers; Renovating the maternal/OB/GYN service area to include single-occupancy labor and delivery and postpartum inpatient rooms and maintaining a Regional Perinatal Center and reestablishing cardiothoracic and cardiac surgery clinical programs.

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