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Edited by: TJVNews.com
NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health on Tuesday officially cut the ribbon at its new Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital. Clara Spera, granddaughter of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg, joined Svetlana Lipyanskaya, CEO of NYC Health + Hospital/South Brooklyn Health, elected officials, community leaders and hospital staff to celebrate the opening of New York City’s first new public hospital since 1982. The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital will begin welcoming patients on Sunday, May 7.
According to a report on Monday in the New York Times, the new hospital was designed to be practically flood-proof as it was born out of a crisis. The facility that will serve South Brooklyn residents and others also promises to elevate the level of health care for hundreds of thousands of people, the NYT reported.
During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Coney Island Hospital, the former name of the campus where the new building is, flooded. The NYT reported that seawater poured into the emergency room. A turtle washed up in the I.T. department. Some 370 patients were evacuated.
When it came time to restore the facility, city hospital leaders convinced the Federal Emergency Management Agency that constructing a new building would cost the same as repairing and retrofitting the old one. With nearly $1 billion from the agency, the city’s public hospital system was able to construct a fortress, designed to withstand even a once-in-a-century flood, the NYT reported.
The new building includes a storm-resilient design, a flood-proof Emergency Department, private patient rooms and state-of-the-art equipment. The hospital also includes upgrades to the rest of the health care campus, including a four-foot wall to withstand a 500-year storm and flood-resilient power, heating, cooling, and water systems.
The building is sheathed in a glass curtain wall that is resistant to hurricane damage and built to withstand “large and small missile impact,” meaning it will not break even if hit with large flying debris, said John Flanagan, an architect on the project from the firm NBBJ, as was reported by the NYT.
“Superstorm Sandy devastated the Coney Island Hospital in 2012. As we prepare to open the doors of the new NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, Ruth Bader Ginsberg Hospital, we open to Southern Brooklyn a new, modern health care facility that is as resilient as the residents it will serve. I am a proud supporter of this hospital and will continue to secure vital funds from the New York City Council to make sure our communities of Southern Brooklyn have access to first class health care,” said NYC Council Member Ari Kagan.
Patients, staff and visitors to the new hospital will also be welcomed by the impressive bronze statue of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg that resides in the building’s lobby. Designed by Gillie and Marc Schattner and donated to the hospital by City Point, the sculpture is 7 feet 2 inches high and weighs 650 pounds.
Other amenities at the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital include a surgical suite comprised of eight state-of-the-art operating rooms, robotic surgery, an endoscopy suite, inpatient dialysis, 80 private medical-surgical beds, 60 behavioral health beds with panoramic views of Brooklyn and the New York City skyline, diagnostic and interventional radiology and clinical laboratories.
“Today marks a significant moment in New York City with the opening of NYC Health + Hospital’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adam on Tuesday. “Named after an icon who embodied the values of our public hospital system — providing equitable health care to all with dignity and respect — now, nearly 875,000 New Yorkers will have access to world-class health care in a modern, state-of-the-art facility.”
“Our family is delighted that the new South Brooklyn hospital is being named for my grandmother, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and are excited that this world-class hospital will soon open its doors to the public,” said Clara Spera, the granddaughter of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “Born and bred in Brooklyn, Joan Ruth Bader benefitted from the Borough’s public institutions, including its schools and its libraries, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It is therefore fitting that another Brooklyn establishment, dedicated – like those of her youth – to the public welfare, share in her legacy of striving for the betterment of all.”
“As we prepare to open the new Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital we carry forward the legacy of a trailblazer who championed equality and justice for all,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health CEO Svetlana Lipyanskaya. “This hospital will serve as a beacon of hope and healing for the South Brooklyn community, providing top-quality care and support to those who need it most. I am proud to be part of this historic moment and grateful to everyone who has worked tirelessly to make it a reality.”
“Congrats to the new South Brooklyn Health on this tremendous addition,” said Council Member Inna Vernikov. “The new Ruth Bader Ginsberg Hospital will be a beneficial addition for the front-line professional staff working hard every day, and patients alike, and above all will be great for our growing community.”
“The opening of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital is of monumental importance, not just for South Brooklyn, but for our entire city,” said NYS Assemblyman Michael Novakhov. “As the first public hospital to open in New York since the mid-1980s, this new facility will provide state of the art care to all those seeking access. Investments into to the health and wellbeing of our communities is how we as a city put our best foot forward and set a standard of care for others to emulate. I could not be prouder to have this world class facility in my Assembly District, and I thank all those that made this, truly, life changing opportunity possible.”
“The newest, state-of-the-art NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health public hospital is a much-needed and greatly anticipated addition to Southern Brooklyn’s healthcare landscape, said NYS Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton. “Especially as our communities continue recovering from the pandemic, this highly upgraded new space will be instrumental to delivering the level of care that our neighbors deserve, while simultaneously addressing critical matters of safety and resiliency.”
Congress Member Hakeem Jeffries, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, City Council Members Mercedes Narcisse, Ari Kagan, and Justin Brannan, as well as Dr. Mitchell Katz, President and Chief Executive Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals, were among the dignitaries in attendance.
“We didn’t want to look like a city hospital,” said Daniel Collins, the senior associate director of facilities at the South Brooklyn Health campus, as was reported by the NYT. “We wanted to look like a hospital. And I think they achieved it very well.”
