A Loss for Victory

Victory Memorial Hospital appears to be on its deathbed: the 107-year-old Bay Ridge institution announced sweeping layoffs last week and could be shuttered by Feb. 1. The only saving grace at this point would have to come in the form of a miracle.

The hospital, in the throes of bankruptcy for a year, revealed Nov. 10 that approximately 900 workers would be without jobs come the new year. Plans call for the rest of the medical staff to be phased out through January.

Hopes for a takeover by SUNY Downstate Medical Center were dashed Monday, bringing Victory Memorial’s demise a step closer. If the proposal had been approved, Downstate would have interjected around 38 million dollars to save the hospital’s Emergency Room and Acute Care beds.

“They’re going to have blood on their hands,” said Dr. Simon Saada, Director of Surgery and Urology at Victory Memorial since 1989.

Hospital supporters said 300,000 people in Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst – many of them senior citizens and immigrants ¬– would be left without proper medical care by Victory Memorial’s loss.

“I’m going to predict a healthcare crisis come February,” said Bill Guarinello, the acting chair of the not-for-profit hospital’s board of trustees, adding that creditors are urging Victory Memorial to close by Feb. 1.

The draconian layoff moves come in response to the demands of creditors, said Claudia Hutton, a spokeswoman for the state Health Department.

The 92nd Street medical center was among those recommended for closure by the Berger Commission, a state panel charged with helping reduce the number of empty hospital beds to save taxpayer money.

Victory Memorial owes creditors $90 million, said Assemblyman Peter Abbate, who is among those battling to save the hospital.

“Healthcare is going up and they’re looking at the bottom line – not lives,” said Abbate.

Area residents will now have to choose between two already understaffed and overburdened hospitals: Lutheran Medical Center in Sunset Park and Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park.

But Victory Memorial supporters vowed to fight until the end. “I will not leave until they put the bolt on the door,” said Saada.