March 15, 2024

UUP is hosting three virtual panel discussions that will focus on SUNY’s plan to close SUNY Downstate University Hospital and the far-reaching implications the teaching hospital’s closure would have on health care services in Brooklyn and the wellbeing of the community.

The panelists, who are medical doctors and professors that work at the hospital and medical school, will also consider the impact closing Downstate’s hospital will have on its medical school.

The first of the one-hour forums is set for noon on Friday, March 15. The second symposium will be held at noon on Tuesday, March 19, followed by a forum at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20.

Click HERE to register for the forums.

Topics that will be addressed during the forums include:
• The immediate health care challenges that could arise due to Downstate’s closure;
• How shuttering Downstate’s hospital could hinder the development of a diverse health care workforce and affect medical research and innovation;
• The public health risks that might emerge without the hospital;
• Ways that policymakers can prioritize the critical role of public teaching hospitals in our health care system; and
• How the hospital’s closure will impact the medical school and research conducted at Downstate.

Panelists scheduled to be at the March 15 forum are Dr. Matthew Pincus, professor of Pathology; and Ann Harris, who works in Downstate’s Cardiac Electrophysiology program.

Panelists set for the March 19 forum include Dr. Michael Augenbraun, director of Downstate’s Infectious Disease Division.

Panelists set to appear at the March 20 forum are Dr. Christopher Lange, professor of Radiation Oncology, Director of Radiation Research and professor of Molecular & Cell Biology; Dr. Llewellyn Hyacinthe, associate professor at and director of Downstate’s Department of Urology; and Dr. Robert Foronjy, Downstate’s chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.