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NYC Health + Hospitals Will Rename Its Coney Island Hospital Campus As South Brooklyn Health; New 11-Story Hospital Building Will Be Named After U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Jul 30, 2021
NYC Health + Hospitals today announced a milestone in its transformation of the future health care campus on the current grounds of NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island. The new health care complex, expected to open in 2022, will be renamed NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health to reflect the comprehensive inpatient, surgical, outpatient and specialty services available on the campus and its essential role as the closest hospital to nearly 875,000 New Yorkers in the South Brooklyn community. The new 11-story hospital building and the existing Tower building within the renovated campus will be jointly named after United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a figure who espoused truth, equality and justice. The new campus name, NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, and the new hospital name, the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital, were approved July 29 by the NYC Health + Hospitals Board of Directors, and will become effective summer 2022 when the new building opens.
The redesigned campus will include a new elevated Emergency Department, state of the art operating rooms including robotic surgery, single bedded inpatient beds, a number of modern specialty care – endoscopy and interventional radiology and cardiology services, new entrances from Ocean Parkway, a new flood wall, improved parking for patients and staff, and much more. The redevelopment is part of a major $922.7 million hospital campus renovation funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to demolish, replace and repair flood damaged buildings from Superstorm Sandy.
Click here to see the artistic renderings of the future NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital.
“Investing in public health is critical for our recovery,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “NYC Health + Hospitals has been on the frontlines of the pandemic, serving all New Yorkers regardless of income or immigration status. I’m thrilled to see this state-of-the-art facility opening in South Brooklyn as we build a recovery for all of us. Even more fitting that one of its buildings is being renamed for a champion of progress and equality, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her legacy will continue to live on in her hometown borough.”
“We are grateful that the family of Ruth Bader Ginsburg has allowed us to honor her memory in this historic way,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “Justice Ginsburg fought tirelessly for justice and equality, giving voices to the voiceless, and as patients walk into the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, they will do so knowing they will receive high quality health services with compassion, dignity, and respect, regardless of their income, gender identity, or immigration status. On a personal note, as someone who’s family is a native from Coney Island, I look forward to seeing the greater health transformation in this community continue to flourish as we become more inclusive to the surrounding communities and rich diversity of all of south Brooklyn.”
“The Justice’s family is honored that this important public hospital is building on our mother and grandmother’s Brooklyn roots by giving her name to an institution that will serve so many of South Brooklyn’s health needs,” said the Ginsburg family.
The new hospital building, built on the north side of the hospital’s campus, is expected to open in summer 2022. Other parts of the campus renovation are expected to be completed spring 2023. Critical patient services will be located above the 500-year floodplain. This project represents the first completely new building on the campus since 2006 and supports the public health system’s broader multi-year redesign to build a competitive, sustainable organization that will continue to offer high-quality and accessible health care to the people of New York City.
“Since growing up in South Brooklyn, I have understood the value and lifeline Coney Island Hospital has provided to our surrounding communities,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island CEO Svetlana Lipyanskaya. “Although located adjacent to the neighborhood of Coney Island, our medical center is the closest comprehensive facility for approximately 875,000 New Yorkers who reside in South Brooklyn and beyond. With today’s announcement, we are proud to acknowledge our closest neighbors and welcome through our doors the broader communities for whom we provide care and ultimately hope to serve.”
NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health’s campus transformation is funded by FEMA, and will feature:
- A new critical services structure building within NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital with:
- A new Emergency Department – housed on the second floor — featuring an ambulance dock and vehicular drop-off with a ramp connecting to the ground level;
- A surgical suite comprised of eight state-of-the-art operating rooms, offering robotic surgery;
- An endoscopy suite;
- Labor and Delivery Unit;
- Inpatient dialysis;
- 80 private medical-surgical beds;
- 60 behavioral health beds;
- Radiology and interventional radiology;
- Clinical laboratories, and more.
- Mechanical services for the campus will include flood resilient infrastructure for power, heating, cooling, and water systems.
- Demolition of the Hammett Pavilion, which now serves Behavioral Health inpatients and outpatients. Inpatient services will be moved into the new hospital, and the outpatient services will be moved into renovated space in the current main building.
- A new four-foot concrete flood wall surrounding the perimeter of the campus. At the entrances there will passive lift gates.
- Improved campus parking for employees, patients, and visitors.
“I commend NYC Health + Hospitals for commemorating Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life and accomplishments by naming this extraordinary hospital – right by our old neighborhood – in her honor,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “She was a Brooklyn girl through and through, and, like me, was a proud graduate of our public schools and James Madison High School. Justice Ginsburg did so much to advance the cause of justice and gender equality. She was a trailblazer for women of all ages and from all walks of life, who watched her tear down the barriers that kept women from their rightful place as co-equals inside and outside the halls of justice. In her name, NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health will continue her legacy of lifting up those without by providing invaluable and accessible health care to the South Brooklyn community and other surrounding communities for years to come.”
“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought tirelessly for all of us – what an immense honor it is to be able to name this new hospital in her memory,” said Council Member Carlina Rivera, Chair of the Committee on Hospitals. “I applaud NYC Health + Hospitals in their efforts to bring high-quality, state of the art care to all New Yorkers, especially those communities who have struggled most in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. As we get closer to the 2022 opening of NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital, I look forward to continued engagement with local communities.”
“These hospital improvements will advance patient access and quality of care,” said Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried. ‘And naming it for Brooklyn’s own Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a fitting tribute. I commend H+H for these important facility upgrades.”
“NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island has been a lifeline to all the communities of southern Brooklyn, so it is exciting that it will be renamed Southern Brooklyn Health to accurately describe it’s reach throughout the borough. It’s also fitting that the new building will be named after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is a point of great pride for Brooklynites,” aid State Senator Andrew Gounardes.
“Just like Ruth Bader Gingburg, I am sure the NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health will be an inspiration,” said State Senator Diane J. Savino. “I am thrilled that residents of the community will get the care they deserve.”
“This larger than life health complex has played an essential role in the health and wellness of the families of Southern Brooklyn. The addition of the new 11-story hospital building and the existing tower building to be named after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is truly appropriate as this hospital epitomizes her dedication to truth, equality and justice in health care,” said Assemblyman William Colton.
“With accessibility to high-quality medical care a top priority as we work to better meet the health care needs of southern Brooklyn residents, it is only fitting that NYC Health + Hospitals rename this facility in honor of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a scholar, jurist and hometown icon who spent her celebrated career fighting for equality and justice for all,” said Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz.
“As a long-time resident of Coney Island, I’ve seen firsthand what NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island has meant to Southern Brooklyn families. I congratulate the hospital on their new chapter and celebrate their new name, campus and state-of-the-art equipment which will continue to leave an impact for generations to come,” said Assembly Member Mathylde Frontus.
“We are forever grateful to the professional and compassionate response by NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island, and the sacrifices made by medical, nursing and administrative staff, since COVID-19 first invaded our community. I congratulate Coney Island on its new designation as NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, and laud the hospital on naming its soon-to-be opened inpatient hospital, the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital,” said Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein. “Justice Ginsburg was a true daughter of Brooklyn, smashing glass ceilings and flourishing despite a system and culture working against her. She paved the way for so many women; instilling them with hope so they too could succeed and prosper. For this we are forever indebted to her contributions and see no more fitting a tribute, then naming this facility in her honor.”
“This hospital’s new name will remind the community how truly special this country really is. Justice Ginsburg grew up on the streets of Brooklyn, graduated first in her class at Columbia Law School when the legal profession was heavily dominated by men, and ascended to the highest court in the land. God bless America and we look forward to the continuation of the high-quality care provided by this hospital to the Brooklyn community,” said Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis.
“As a lifelong resident of Brooklyn, today’s announcement is thrilling,” said Chair of NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island Community Advisory Board and Chairperson of Brooklyn Community Board 15 Theresa Scavo. “From the outset of this exploratory process, the hospital has given a voice to myself and other community leaders. I am proud of the hospital and excited for what will be a bright future ahead.”
A longstanding home for immigrants, South Brooklyn has seen an increase in new populations of New Yorkers originating from Bangladesh, China, Honduras, Mexico, Pakistan, Poland, and Russia, among other countries. Committed to serving and welcoming these diverse communities, the city is investing in the medical center to reflect its new vision: to be the healthcare destination of choice serving South Brooklyn and beyond – today and for future generations.
In place of the current hospital building, planning is underway and funds have been secured to upgrade the facility to serve as an outpatient center, so patients can address all their non-emergent health care needs on the campus. Work is expected to begin once the transition to the new hospital occurs.
The announcement of NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island renaming converges several important clinical designations and confirmations by city and state governing bodies, as well as the City’s public health system’s Board of Directors. Clinical designations first included the hospital receiving certification to perform Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) in its Cardiac Catheterization Lab. PCI is a nonsurgical procedure that removes or improves blockages to the heart during cardiac events. Additionally, the hospital also received status as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center, thereby improving its capacity to treat patients experiencing strokes.