Yes, LICH surgeons do scrub before entering O.R (I hope)

LICH was taken over by SUNY Downstate some weeks ago.  But by outward appearance at least, its cleanliness standards have sunk.

Here are some pictures of the outside of the LICH buildings between Amity and Congress streets.  Garbage, more garbage, weeds, graffiti, more weeds, more garbage.

Inside the hospital:  surely the surgeons still scrub there, although I haven't actually checked.

The Salary Scandal at NYC Hospitals

The scandal of outlandishly high salaries at "non-profit" hospitals extends way beyond LICH. Here are some excerpts from a recent column by Jim Dwyer in the New York Times:

At Bronx-Lebanon, a hospital that exists only by the grace and taxed fortunes of the people of New York State, the chief executive was paid $4.8 million in 2007 and $3.6 million in 2008, records show. At NewYork-Presbyterian, a hospital system that receives nearly half a billion dollars annually in public money, the chief executive was paid $9.8 million in 2007 and $2.8 million in 2008.

In an urgent search to cut the state’s health care costs and lift revenue, a task force came up with a plan to increase the cost of a hospital stay by $5 and to limit housekeeping services for the disabled in their homes.

One area of plump costs, however, remained undisturbed: executive suites where salaries and compensation run into the millions of dollars, even at the most financially struggling hospitals.

But let's get back to LICH, or rather to Continuum Health Partners, which runs LICH. Here we have data that though a bit outdated is still more current than Jim Dwyer's. Non-profit entities are required to file annual reports to the IRS, including (Schedule J) an accounting of top salaries. I produce this schedule from Continuum's 2009 report, the latest available, below:





Sorry -- I worked on this technical problem for a while but I just couldn't make these figures large enough to read easily. So here are some highlights, figures for Continuum employees who, hm, earned more than a million dollars for the year:

Chandra Sen, MD, $2,109,204
Stanley Brezenoff, $2,014,413
Kathryn C. Meyer, Esq. $1,049,807
John Collura, $1,307,556
Gail Donovan, $1,365,354

Of course this leaves out a host of others who, hm, earned in the upper six digits. For instance ? Dr. Harris Nagler, $973,242

For the curious (that should be YOU), here is a link to Continuum's 2009 Form 990. (You may be asked by GuideStar to register, but this is free of charge.)

Our saviors: our politicians

so ..... the politicians have decided to keep LICH open.

see the NY1 video

Is LICH Closing ?

There is some speculation in the media to the effect that LICH may be forced to close, as a result of State budget problems.
Here is the video on NY1