New York – Robert M. Glickman, M.D., Dean of New York University School of Medicine and Chief Executive Officer of the New York University Hospitals Center, argued today at a public hearing that veterans of the armed forces in the New York City area would face new obstacles to excellent healthcare if the Department of Veterans Affairs implements a plan that would ultimately close the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Manhattan.

The hearing was held to receive public comment on a proposed plan by the Department of Veterans Affairs that would move most of the healthcare services from the VA's Medical Center in Manhattan to another facility in Brooklyn. Glickman expressed strong opposition to the plan. He said that if the department closed the Manhattan VA facility, it would deny veterans the outstanding healthcare they receive in such critical areas as cardiology, cardiac and vascular surgery, neurosurgery, rehabilitation, dialysis, and HIV/AIDs care. Such services, Glickman said, would not be readily available at the Brooklyn site.

"The changes that the Department of Veterans Affairs has proposed for the Manhattan VA would threaten the access that many veterans in our city and state have to the state-of-the-art healthcare they deserve. It is a mistake to think that the quality healthcare that our physicians provide to veterans at the Manhattan VA Medical Center can be replicated in Brooklyn without great cost to the Department and to the veterans who live in our community," Glickman said.

Glickman also said that the medical training that young medical residents receive at the Manhattan facility, as well as clinical research is conducted there, would also be jeopardized by the VA's proposal. "We have $5 million in research programs and 125 residents who receive outstanding healthcare at this facility. These important research and training programs would be jeopardized if the Department of Veterans Affairs moves its operations to the smaller, less-equipped facility in Brooklyn," he said.

Glickman also pointed out that the "Brooklyn VA is not easily accessible from Manhattan. It requires both a train and bus ride. Many of our veterans suffer from physical disabilities such as the loss of limbs, as well as mental disabilities, that can make such a trip exceptionally challenging," he said.