As hospitals face pressure, six in Brooklyn could close

Three more hospitals have closed since 2009—one, Peninsula Hospital Center in Rockaway, Queens, just this year. Six more hospitals, all in Brooklyn, are currently on shaky ground. None of this spells good news for low-income families and the working poor. When neighborhood hospitals close, it creates a domino effect, says Alyssa Aguilera, a healthcare advocate for New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. Families who once relied on hospital clinics for their care move to the next closest hospital, creating longer waits and endemic overcrowding. Care is disrupted, health records are lost, and patients become confused.