SUNY nurses take legal action against NYU Langone

Luxi Peng, Contributing Writer

A temporary restraining order has halted the transfer of a city hospital to a private real estate company.

Fortis Property Group, a partner of NYU Langone and Lutheran medical centers, wants to own the Long Island College Hospital, currently under the ownership of the State University of New York. The restraining order, which was filed by the New York State Nurses Association over concerns of nurses not being rehired, will prevent Fortis and Langone from firing nurses at the former SUNY hospital until an agreement can be reached.

As a result of the ruling, which was handed down on Sept. 3 by the New York State Supreme Court, SUNY is now required to continue to operate the walk-in emergency center at LICH, which Langone was prepared to manage, and may not terminate any currently employed nurses. Fortis must also postpone its plans to construct a new building to consolidate all the hospital medical services, which was scheduled to begin within six months of closing.

Executive director of NYSNA Jill Furillo said she was happy about the court ruling.

“This temporary restraining order is a victory for LICH patients and the nurses who care for them,” Furillo said. “Fortis and NYU were selected to take over Long Island College Hospital based on commitments they made to the community, patients, nurses and the State University of New York.”

Affidavits from five nurses who worked at LICH tell similar stories. All five submitted applications online for job postings on the LICH site in July and received electronic confirmation of their submission. None of them were subsequently contacted by NYU.

According to the affidavit of Eric Smith, a NYSNA program representative assigned to LICH, the NYSNA has confirmed that, of the 79 resident nurses, 12 were called for interviews with NYU, and one was offered a job. Four nurses are still awaiting a response.

Senior director of public relations and internal communications for Langone Lisa Greiner refuted NYSNA’s statement.

“We strongly disagree with NYSNA’s allegations that SUNY is not holding the developer, Fortis Property Group, and its healthcare partners, NYU Langone and Lutheran Family Health Centers, accountable to the terms of the request for proposal,” Greiner said in an email.

Greiner added that the new hospital is currently interviewing many of the same nurses who worked at LICH.

“We have been interviewing and hiring qualified nurses and staff — a number of whom work for or previously worked for LICH — to fully staff this facility, which will be known as NYULMC Cobble Hill, and to provide a continuity of care for Brooklyn residents,” Greiner said.

When asked to comment further, Greiner declined, citing the ongoing judicial proceedings. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 12 with Justice Johnny Lee Baynes, who has been overseeing the litigation surrounding this deal.

Furillo said, ultimately, the nurses were vital to the continued operations that Langone will oversee at the hospital.

“NYU cannot preserve quality care for LICH patients without the skilled and experienced nurses who have shown our unwavering commitment to this community,” Furillo said.

A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Sept. 9 print edition. Email Luxi Peng at [email protected].