“Save Maimonides Hospital” Initiative Linked to NY Nursing Home Executive
By: Benyamin Davidsons
There’s a full blown effort to “save Maimonides” Medical Center. In July, a group calling itself Brooklyn Health Initiative set up tables outside the hospital, getting people to sign a petition, with the stated aim of “restoring integrity and excellence to our cherished neighborhood hospital.”
As reported by Crain’s NY, the group contends that the Borough Park hospital’s quality of care has declined due to understaffing, mismanagement and neglect. The group also points a finger at the hospital’s chief executive, Kenneth Gibbs, whose salary jumped from $1.8 million in 2019 to $3.2 million in 2020, despite the hospital’s deteriorating state. The group started two websites last month, asking patients and employees to share their experiences at the hospital. The websites were rapidly filled with horror stories and complaints regarding Maimonides. The community hospital, which is an affiliate of Northwell Health, is rated poorly for patient experience, with a D rating from the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit considered reliable in the industry. The hospital serves mostly lower-income patients who are on Medicaid and Medicare. It has been struggled to stay afloat, even with financial support, staffing and expertise from their affiliate Northwell, the state’s largest health care provider.
Mendy Reiner, the group’s co-chair, told Crain’s that he became aware of conditions at the hospital about a year ago, but he figured it must be because of the pandemic. “I realized it’s not Covid—it’s the hospital that’s broken, and we need to do something about it,” he said. He decided to formalize the campaign after hearing more stories, but he said others in the group were threatened indirectly or directly, and are hesitant to be vocal.
Mordy Getz, a self-identified vocal supporter of Save Maimonides and the chief executive of urgent care center LevelUp MD, said that the problems stem from hospital leadership and that the group wants to get more experienced members appointed to the board of trustees, and to increase governmental oversight. “This is not about the nurses, the doctors; it’s about the leadership,” Getz said.
Another person who appears to be part to the initiative, is Eliezer “Louis” Scheiner, who has ownership in at least 24 nursing homes across the country, including three in New York. He denied affiliation with the group, but said he agrees with the cause. As per Crain’s, he had met with hospital executives in 2020 promising donations if he could build up the hospital’s board of trustees. “In exchange for philanthropy, he proposed to name or approve a group of people to serve on the board. The group would form a majority and effectively control the hospital. When this offer was made, it was declined,” said Gene Keilin, chairman of the Maimonides board of trustees.
Scheiner’s spokesman, Mercury Public Affairs President John Gallagher, confirmed that Scheiner met with Gibbs and Keilin about helping the hospital and had pledged tens of millions of dollars but claims that they did reach an agreement. “Mr. Scheiner and Mr. Gibbs struck an agreement where Louis, in his capacity as a philanthropist, would help raise and donate tens of millions of dollars, and recruit the most talented board members and staff, to try and turn around the hospital,” Gallagher said in a statement. “In return, Ken Gibbs agreed that the failing hospital would institute desperately needed reforms. Mr. Scheiner donated a considerable amount of time, money and resources only to find out that Mr. Gibbs had no intention of keeping those promised reforms.”
By: Benyamin Davidsons
There’s a full blown effort to “save Maimonides” Medical Center. In July, a group calling itself Brooklyn Health Initiative set up tables outside the hospital, getting people to sign a petition, with the stated aim of “restoring integrity and excellence to our cherished neighborhood hospital.”
As reported by Crain’s NY, the group contends that the Borough Park hospital’s quality of care has declined due to understaffing, mismanagement and neglect. The group also points a finger at the hospital’s chief executive, Kenneth Gibbs, whose salary jumped from $1.8 million in 2019 to $3.2 million in 2020, despite the hospital’s deteriorating state. The group started two websites last month, asking patients and employees to share their experiences at the hospital. The websites were rapidly filled with horror stories and complaints regarding Maimonides. The community hospital, which is an affiliate of Northwell Health, is rated poorly for patient experience, with a D rating from the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit considered reliable in the industry. The hospital serves mostly lower-income patients who are on Medicaid and Medicare. It has been struggled to stay afloat, even with financial support, staffing and expertise from their affiliate Northwell, the state’s largest health care provider.
Mendy Reiner, the group’s co-chair, told Crain’s that he became aware of conditions at the hospital about a year ago, but he figured it must be because of the pandemic. “I realized it’s not Covid—it’s the hospital that’s broken, and we need to do something about it,” he said. He decided to formalize the campaign after hearing more stories, but he said others in the group were threatened indirectly or directly, and are hesitant to be vocal.
Mordy Getz, a self-identified vocal supporter of Save Maimonides and the chief executive of urgent care center LevelUp MD, said that the problems stem from hospital leadership and that the group wants to get more experienced members appointed to the board of trustees, and to increase governmental oversight. “This is not about the nurses, the doctors; it’s about the leadership,” Getz said.
Another person who appears to be part to the initiative, is Eliezer “Louis” Scheiner, who has ownership in at least 24 nursing homes across the country, including three in New York. He denied affiliation with the group, but said he agrees with the cause. As per Crain’s, he had met with hospital executives in 2020 promising donations if he could build up the hospital’s board of trustees. “In exchange for philanthropy, he proposed to name or approve a group of people to serve on the board. The group would form a majority and effectively control the hospital. When this offer was made, it was declined,” said Gene Keilin, chairman of the Maimonides board of trustees.
Scheiner’s spokesman, Mercury Public Affairs President John Gallagher, confirmed that Scheiner met with Gibbs and Keilin about helping the hospital and had pledged tens of millions of dollars but claims that they did reach an agreement. “Mr. Scheiner and Mr. Gibbs struck an agreement where Louis, in his capacity as a philanthropist, would help raise and donate tens of millions of dollars, and recruit the most talented board members and staff, to try and turn around the hospital,” Gallagher said in a statement. “In return, Ken Gibbs agreed that the failing hospital would institute desperately needed reforms. Mr. Scheiner donated a considerable amount of time, money and resources only to find out that Mr. Gibbs had no intention of keeping those promised reforms.”
