August 23, 2013
By Stephanie West
New York, NY — Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has filed a motion in federal bankruptcy court to halt the closure of Interfaith Medical Center in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The motion contends the state Department of Health rushed ahead with approving Interfaith’s closure plan without proper oversight by disregarding the 90-day review period required under law.
Interfaith is currently in bankruptcy proceedings and is slated to begin shutting down operations on August 26th.
The loss of Interfaith would push more than 175,000 Brooklynites farther from their nearest emergency room, and would leave nearly 70,000 people who use Interfaith’s out-patient psychiatric facilities without any services in their own community.
“The stakes for this community couldn’t be higher. We’ve shown with Long Island College Hospital that the courts are willing to step in when community healthcare is put at risk by a heedless rush to closure. Today, we’re beginning a legal battle to keep healthcare in central Brooklyn, and we won’t stop until we succeed,” said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.
