Interfaith Medical Center is one of three hospitals that make up the One Brooklyn Health partnership.

ALBANY—Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday that the state has awarded One Brooklyn Health, a newly established group of three struggling Brooklyn hospitals, with approximately $664 million for targeted system and infrastructure investments geared at increasing access to quality care in Central Brooklyn.

One Brooklyn Health consists of Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, Interfaith Medical Center and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center. The partnership evolved after the release of Northwell Health's “The Brooklyn Study: Reshaping the Future of Healthcare,” last year that called for the merger of those three hospitals, as well as Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, into a non-profit consortium. Wyckoff Heights is not a part of the One Brooklyn Health partnership, however.

The report chronicled the fiscal woes of the four institutions and noted that the four facilities “have undergone a decade of financial and organizational trauma.” The report stated that the four hospitals' operating deficit in fiscal 2017 would be a combined $310 million in 2017 that would have to be made up through a combination of federal and state aid. That deficit is projected to grow by $95 million to $405 million in fiscal year 2021.

Exacerbating Central Brooklyn's problems is the fact that it has measurably higher rates of obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure as compared to other areas of New York State, has limited access to healthy foods or opportunities for physical activity, high rates of violence and crime, wide economic disparities due to unemployment, and high poverty levels, and inadequate access to high quality health care and mental health services, state officials note.

The state funding announced by the governor was seen as a critical component of the restructuring initiative. The funding is also part of the governor's Vital Brooklyn initiative geared at improving health care in the borough.

“For far too long, chronic disparities in health care have contributed to systemic poverty in Central Brooklyn, and Vital Brooklyn is a national model for tackling those challenges and addressing every facet of community wellness,” Gov. Cuomo said. “This holistic investment creates a sustainable, unified health care system to empower historically underserved communities, support health and wellness and ensure a brighter future for the people of Brooklyn.”

The state will be providing a total of $664 million in funding, including $210 million to develop a 32-site ambulatory care network that will include partnerships with existing community-based providers to increase access to primary and preventative health care services in the highest need areas of Central Brooklyn.

On-site wellness facilities, such as urgent care, primary care, and specialty practices, will be built around the three One Brooklyn Health hospitals. The initiative will create 255 net new jobs. Also the partnership will recruit 300 primary care physicians to the Central Brooklyn area, which has some of lowest rates of primary care physicians per capita in the state.

The state will also provide $384 million for critical clinical and facility infrastructure improvements. Specifically, Brookdale will undertake facility improvements, including the development of a new emergency department, expansion of its community health center to accommodate a new 30-bed Intensive Care Unit and development of additional patient care units that are expected to increase Brookdale's capacity by 100 beds.

Interfaith will renovate and expand its emergency department, as well develop a Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program Unit that will help facilitate the integration of primary and behavioral health care services at the hospital.

Kingsbrook Jewish is to evolve into a medical village with new and expanded ambulatory primary and specialty care, emergency services, and post-acute care services. Plans call for Kingsbrook to re-purpose portions of its campus to address what state officials say would be social determinants of health, including the provision of new affordable housing and community space.

$142 million will be reserved to provide One Brooklyn Health flexibility in prioritizing its other clinical and facility infrastructure improvement projects, state officials say.

Instant Insights /

State to Invest $664M for Central Brooklyn Health Care Improvement Initiative

Related Stories

Recommended For You