State Investing Millions in Distressed Hospital Hoping for a Suitor

By Dan Goldberg

Wyckoff Heights Medical Center’s recent missed payment to the state Dormitory Authority is the kind of accounting red flag that would normally set off alarm bells.

The facility, located in northeast Brooklyn and primarily serving Bushwick and Ridgewood, has a payer mix too reliant on Medicaid to stand on its own. It has been in financial trouble for years, the subject of both scandal and internal strife. Expenses grew faster than revenue in 2016 and the medical center posted a nearly $20 million operating loss, according to audited financial statements.

But, thanks to a sustained and growing investment from Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration, none of this necessarily signals that Wyckoff is an imminent danger of collapse, bankruptcy, or closure. The medical center is eligible for $70 million from the state’s Value-Based Payment Quality Improvement Program, known by the eye-chart like acronym VBP-QIP. Brookdale Medical Center, also in Brooklyn, was the only hospital eligible to receive more aid.

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Source: Politico (via The Empire Report)