A Hospital Was in Critical Condition. Could $1.1 Billion Fix It?

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University Hospital at Downstate in Brooklyn faces many of the problems plaguing other medical centers in New York, but the state has reversed course and is investing in it.

By Joseph Goldstein

During the past quarter century, more than a dozen New York City hospitals have closed. The causes of death have been many: changing economics, deregulation, less government support, a shift toward more outpatient treatment.

It seemed likely that University Hospital at Downstate in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, would soon join that casualty list, especially when state officials began formulating a plan last year for the hospital’s demise. After all, the medical center, part of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, had hemorrhaged money and patients for years. A far larger hospital sits directly across the street, ensuring that the neighborhood — plagued with high rates of diabetes, hypertension and kidney disease — would not be without medical care.