By Mary Alice Miller
Another day, another crisis at Downstate University Hospital.
A mere few weeks after it was revealed that SUNY had not submitted a $100 million spending plan for operating expenses at Downstate that was approved last Spring, David Berger, MD, resigned as CEO. Berger is under investigation for alleged financial misconduct.
According to a report in Politico published last Friday, the New York State Office of Inspector General and the New York Commission on Ethics and Lobbying are conducting the investigations.
Patricia Winston, DNP, RN, has been appointed interim CEO. Dr. Winston currently serves as senior vice president of hospital operations at Downstate.
“I have made clear that my administration has no tolerance for any form of unethical conduct, and I immediately directed SUNY to restructure leadership at University Hospital after I was briefed on the situation,” said Gov. Hochul in a statement shared with Becker’s Hospital Review.
Dr. Berger will serve for 30 days as a senior advisor during the leadership transition. “Moving forward, I want to reassure the community that the hospital is in responsible hands and will be under enhanced oversight by SUNY during this transition period.”
Dr. Berger became CEO of Downstate in 2020.
Details surrounding the allegations of financial misconduct by Dr. Berger have not been made public.
On another note, Assemblywoman Latrice Walker received a response to her query about the plan for $100 million to assist Downstate with its operating expenses shortfall.
In a letter from SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr., Walker was assured that “SUNY has been working closely with the New York State Division of Budget to ensure the $100 million that was allocated in the FY 2025 state budget is made available for deficit financing.”
Chancellor King said in the letter “SUNY submitted a plan that has been approved, and we are confident that the necessary deficit funding will be made available soon. In the meantime, we have been able to use cashflow management strategies to maintain operations in anticipation of receiving the $100 million.”
He added, “$100 million in deficit funding will again be needed in the coming budget year to maintain SUNY Downstate’s current operations.”
“I am happy to see the process moving forward,” Walker said. “The consequences of losing the hospital would be far too great for residents of Brooklyn, particularly in communities of color.”
Walker cautioned, “The failure to save SUNY Downstate, which has been operating at a deficit for years, would only exacerbate the health disparities that already exist in the Brooklyn neighborhoods served by the hospital. The failure to save SUNY Downstate would decrease life expectancy and send the message that some people in Albany don’t care if poor people live or die.”
“That’s why I have been fighting so hard for SUNY Downstate,” Walker said.