The U.S. Bankruptcy Court signed off yesterday on $7.5 million in state aid for the financially strapped Interfaith Medical Center in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
The funds — $3.5 million of which will be handed over right away – will help the hospital at 1545 Atlantic Avenue to fully operate until at least next month. Amid protests from unions, the state had called for Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center to take over the hospital’s clinics before releasing the funds.
“Today was a crucial day in the fight to save Brooklyn health care. We dodged a bullet that could have meant the end of Interfaith and now we’re looking forward to working on a long-term, sustainable, and viable solution to critical patient-care services,” the New York State Nurses Association and SEIU 1199 said in a statement, as reported by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
Last week, hospital workers and community members rallied at the Interfaith Medical Center in an effort to stave off the hospital’s closing, as previously reported. [Brooklyn Daily Eagle] — Mark Maurer