Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center

— Photo by Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center

Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, in Brooklyn.

Becker’s Hospital Review reports on New York State’s efforts to rescue financially troubled hospitals in Brooklyn with millions of dollars in  state support,  including $325 million in 2015. At a recent state budget hearing, Kenneth Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, made a proposal to help the distressed hospitals survive long term.

The state’s Department of Health says there are 28 Brooklyn hospitals that would likely close without their safety-net status, government subsidies and political pressure.

So Mr. Raske proposed that the state pay the wealthiest hospital systems $2.5 billion over five years to “adopt and adapt these facilities to the new world.”

Becker’s reports that “some large health systems, including New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System and Great Neck, N.Y.-based Northwell Health, want to expand their presence in Brooklyn, making Mr. Raske’s plan popular among the hospitals in desperate need of the financial help.”

“Places like central Brooklyn that don’t have the more attractive payer mix are in a position where it’s more of a challenge to get a larger system interested,” Linda Brady, M.D., president and CEO of Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, in Brooklyn, told Becker’s.

“This is exactly why the governor put this in his budget proposal, and it’s why Ken Raske is advocating for this.”