Governor Kathy Hochul has unveiled the Downstate Community Advisory Board’s plan for the more than $1 billion State reinvestment in SUNY Downstate’s hospital and the health of the Central Brooklyn Community. Following months of community input and engagement, the advisory board advanced a plan that will stabilize and renovate the facility and deliver a modern hospital to Central Brooklyn, ensuring access to quality, affordable health care for years to come.
The plan from the advisory board will:
- Retain all current inpatient and outpatient services, including maternity and kidney transplant services
- Convert all double occupancy rooms to private rooms with showers and add additional rooms, resulting in 225 operational beds (with the goal of increasing the current 165 average daily census)
- Modernize and expand the emergency department to 45 stations
- Establish/renovate dedicated inpatient specialty units for cardiology, oncology, and orthopedics
- Build a new hospital annex, including a state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center that expands services in oncology and cardiology
- Address the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing infrastructure issues that have resulted in repeated system failures
- Improve leadership and operations to achieve greater operational sustainability
Learn more:
- Governor Hochul Secures Historic $1 Billion+ Investment for SUNY Downstate, Community Advisory Board Finalizes New Recommendation Report
- Downstate Community Advisory Board Recommendations Summary
- Downstate Community Advisory Board Final Report
- Downstate Community Advisory Board Report Appendices
- Downstate Community Advisory Board (DCAB)
In the 2025 Enacted Budget, Governor Hochul and the state legislature created the Downstate Community Advisory Board to establish a reasonable, scalable, and fiscally responsible plan for the financial health, viability and sustainability of SUNY Downstate.
To develop its recommendations, the Downstate Community Advisory Board completed a study that considered the following factors:
- Overall healthcare service delivery trends and models;
- Historic and projected financials for the hospital and the campus;
- Current state of building infrastructure and capital needs;
- Community healthcare needs, outcomes, and health disparities;
- Existing inpatient and outpatient service offerings and health outcomes;
- Capacity and availability of inpatient and outpatient services in the broader primary and secondary service areas;
- Efficiency of operations and quality of healthcare services benchmarking; and
- Training needs for students and employment outcomes.
See Section 996 of the NYS Executive Law for more information about DCAB’s Charge: Downstate Community Advisory Board Charge & Statute
See Press Release: Governor Hochul Announces Appointees to SUNY Downstate Community Advisory Board
More information on the DCAB’s charge is available in the DCAB Final Report as well as in Appendix 1: DCAB Charge and Mission of the DCAB Report Appendices.
- DCAB Public Hearings
Community input was a critical piece of the Downstate Community Advisory Board process. The advisory board was to hold no less than three public hearings to solicit input and recommendations from any interested party, including from healthcare experts, county health departments, community-based organizations, state and regional healthcare industry associations, labor unions, experts in hospital operations, and other interested parties. Given the importance of community engagement to the DCAB, an additional public hearing was held beyond the minimum.
- The first Public Hearing was held Wednesday, January 22, 2025, from 6:00pm – 8:00pm at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University.
- The second Public Hearing was held Thursday, February 27, 2025, from 6:00pm – 9:00pm at Medgar Evers College, Bedford Avenue Campus, 1650 Bedford Avenue – Founders Auditorium, Brooklyn, NY 11225.
- The third Public Hearing was held on Thursday, March 13, 2025, from 6:00pm – 8:30pm at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University.
- The fourth Public Hearing was held on Monday, April 28, 2025, from 6:00pm – 8:30pm at Medgar Evers College, Founders Auditorium
A summary of DCAB Public Hearing themes is available in the DCAB Final Report. Information presented at Public Hearings and Public Hearing flyers are available in Appendix 2: Outreach of the DCAB Report Appendices.
View the Downstate Community Advisory Board Recommendations Summary:
