A “Reckless, Short-Sighted” Plan: NYC Forces Take Over Maimonides

By FrumNews.com

Boro Park, NY — Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein lambasted New York’s bureaucrats after reports that the city is trying to force a takeover of Maimonides Medical Center, under the umbrella of NYC Health + Hospitals. Coordinators from four local Hatzalah organizations have also spoken out against the takeover.

Maimonides Medical Center was founded in 1911 as the New Utrecht Dispensary. After a few mergers and name changes, it became the Maimonides Medical Center we know today: a vital nonprofit hospital in Boro Park.

Over the past few years, the Hospital has been struggling, both financially and in its reputation, due to the COVID pandemic. Several years ago, the Boro Park community spearheaded efforts to make changes at the hospital. The issues have deteriorated so much that the hospital administrators presented a plan for the hospital to be taken over by NYC Health + Hospitals (which operates the public hospitals and clinics in New York City as a public benefit corporation).

Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, who represents Boro Park and Midwood, slammed the move by the city, “[Y]ou need to know that this decision is being shoved down our throats. The state, along with an outgoing NYC administration with one foot out the door, decided to disregard our local communities and expedite a transition.”

Eichenstein went on: “No one in the community asked for it, and hospital board members were pressured to approve it. In fact, those hospital board members who reside locally and understand the implications of this plan voted against it. This is not collaboration. This is coercion.

“If this takeover moves forward, I worry that Maimonides will lose its independence and its ability to serve the people who depend on it most. That is why I am strongly opposed to this takeover.” Eichenstein added that while changes at the hospital are needed and being pushed for, he warned that these “reckless decisions by bureaucrats and stakeholders who will disappear the day after, with zero local input, will end in disaster. We need a clear plan that recognizes local interests and considers patient safety. Our families, our seniors, and our children rely on this hospital every day and those forcefully shoving this proposal down our throats do not.”

Joining the fray, coordinators from four local Hatzalah divisions — from Boro Park, Crown Heights, Flatbush, and Mill Basin — have spoken out against the takeover: “Hatzolah strongly opposes this potential takeover, and believes it is not in the best interest of our community. Over the past many years, we have had and continue to have an excellent working relationship with Maimonides Hospital, its administration, and its staff. Over the years we have worked tirelessly together to help make Maimonides a strong and reliable institution for our community, and we will continue to do so.

“At this time, discussions with the city are still ongoing. All hospital operations remain status quo, and there are no changes in how Maimonides will function or serve our community. We have voiced our opposition to this potential merger clearly to both the city and the hospital administration, and we will continue to keep the community informed as developments unfold.”

Read the full statement from Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein:

“Since I took office, the future of Maimonides has been at the forefront of our agenda. Not a week has gone by over the last several years that we have not been working on this issue behind the scenes. The fact is that Maimonides is in a fiscal crisis for a variety of reasons, so much so that the state has been actively bailing out the hospital to the tune of $350 million a year, just to meet payroll.

“But today, our local communities are in jeopardy of losing our local hospital to a NYC Health + Hospitals takeover. I am deeply concerned and beyond outraged at this latest proposal presented by the leadership of Maimonides and NYC Health + Hospitals.

“Dear neighbors, you need to know that this decision is being shoved down our throats. The state, along with an outgoing NYC administration with one foot out the door, decided to disregard our local communities and expedite a transition. Let me be clear: this is a short-sighted quick fix made without the slightest understanding of our local diverse neighborhoods.

“This is especially disturbing to me because for years I have been working tirelessly together with hospital leadership and community leaders to work out a responsible and sustainable solution for our local hospital. I have devoted many hours to this very issue. Yet suddenly, without any meaningful engagement or transparency, Maimonides leadership and New York City decided to force this plan on us. No one in the community asked for it and hospital board members were pressured to approve it. In fact, those hospital board members who reside locally and understand the implications of this plan voted against it. This is not collaboration. This is coercion.

“If this takeover moves forward, I worry that Maimonides will lose its independence and its ability to serve the people who depend on it most. That is why I am strongly opposed to this takeover.

“Yes, changes are necessary, and a practical solution needs to be put into place. But reckless decisions by bureaucrats and stakeholders who will disappear the day after, with zero local input, will end in disaster. We need a clear plan that recognizes local interests and considers patient safety. Our families, our seniors, and our children rely on this hospital every day and those forcefully shoving this proposal down our throats do not.

“We cannot stand by quietly while others make important decisions on our behalf.”