Another at-risk hospital

JOB-CUT JOLT AT HOSPITAL
By JOHN DOYLE, NY Post

More than 200 people were laid off by Brooklyn's Brookdale Hospital [Monday], a surprising move that sparked fears the facility is on life support.

Doctors, nurses and other hospital staffers arrived at work to find pink slips informing them that their jobs had been cut.

George Gresham, president of SEIU 1199, the hospital-workers union, called the layoffs "abrupt," and said he will work to try to reduce the job cuts.

"The dire situation at Brookdale is very real evidence of what we've been working to educate New Yorkers about - hospitals are hanging on by a thread," he said.

Hospital officials put the number of layoffs at 240. Workers rallied to protest the cuts.

A statement from the hospital blamed the layoffs on the economic downturn and state budget cuts.

Health care: fix it now.