NYU's Langone to operate ER at site of failed Brooklyn hospital

New York University Langone Medical Center, in the latest development of an ongoing saga involving an urban hospital fallen on hard times, will take over emergency room operations of the Long Island College Hospital under a tentative deal between the State University of New York and developers vying to acquire the Brooklyn hospital site.

Langone's involvement is part of a new deal for the site. SUNY's attempts to unload the financially strained Brooklyn hospital has been challenged by lawsuits and beset by false starts, including the collapse of talks with two prior developers in the past two months.

The university said the latest agreement with Fortis Property Group must be finalized and win approval from SUNY's board of trustees, but NYU Langone has received certificate-of-need approval from state health officials.

Fortis pledged to pay $240 million and another $5 million to a community health foundation. It also agreed to reimburse SUNY for emergency room operating expenses since late May. The rest of the hospital is closed and will not reopen under the deal. Some community groups had hoped to see a new hospital open on the site and the first court-declared winner in the bidding process, Brooklyn Health Partners, had promised to do just that but its plans fell through. A second bidder became involved before also dropping out.

Fortis, NYU Langone and Lutheran Health Services will “provide or coordinate” emergency and urgent care, ambulatory surgery and some primary and specialty care under the agreement. What remains of the campus will be developed for housing rentals, town homes and condominiums.

“The deal begins the process of easing the tremendous financial burden being shouldered by students and campuses across the state,” David Doyle, SUNY's communications director, said in a news release on the latest agreement. “Longstanding litigation and losses at LICH appear to be nearly over, allowing vital public higher education resources to move from the courtroom to the classroom where they belong.”

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