Press Releases

An Historic Day for South Brooklyn: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital Opens for Care, Welcomes First Patients, Opens New Emergency Department

Over 170 patients moved overnight from old NYC Health +Hospitals/Coney Island Hospital to the new FEMA-funded 11-story hospital tower that features flood resiliency design, private patient rooms, and state-of-the-art equipment

May 07, 2023

NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health patient Stephen Burke is among the first patients moved into the new Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital, tended to by nurse Inglide Jesuca-Jodesty (Credit: NYC Health + Hospitals)

Brooklyn, NY

NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health today announced that the new Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital is officially open for care. More than 100 doctors, nurses, transport staff and hospital administrators worked overnight to move over 170 patients from the old NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island hospital building to the new 11-story, storm resilient hospital tower. Patients and equipment were transferred to the new facility starting early this morning at 1 AM.  The old emergency department (ED) that was flooded during Superstorm Sandy officially closed its doors at 12 midnight, and the new second floor, flood resilient Ruth Bader Ginsberg Hospital ED began accepting walk-in and ambulance patients. This is an historic day for South Brooklyn and neighboring communities, as they gain a new hospital with new, spacious operating theaters, single patient rooms, and other state of the equipment to deliver high quality care and “Excellence for All.” The Ruth Bader Ginsberg Hospital is part of a redesigned health care campus located at 2601 Ocean Parkway, offering comprehensive primary care, specialty medicine and emergency care services to the South Brooklyn community. Click here to learn more or call 1-844-NYC-4NYC to make an appointment. Photos of the move are available, as are videos from patient Stephen Burke and NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health Chief of Hospital Police Vincent Martino.

“I applaud all the staff who worked overnight to move over 170 patients safely and seamlessly. This was a complex operation, and the last major milestone to make the opening of our new hospital a reality,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “The new Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital will allow us to continue serving the people of South Brooklyn no matter what Mother Nature brings our way. We are grateful to FEMA for the funding that will allow us to provide patients with next-level care and proud to open our doors to the entire South Brooklyn community.”

“Opening the doors to our new Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital marks an unforgettable milestone for our team,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health CEO Svetlana Lipyanskaya. “We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the entire healthcare team, government officials, and volunteers, who made this possible. With our state-of-the-art facility and unwavering commitment, we are poised to provide South Brooklyn patients and the community with exceptional care where everyone can Expect Excellence for All.”

Just after dawn, Stephen Burke was among the first patients to be moved into the new medical-surgical unit at the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital. “I am very happy to be here. I love this view. The people are being very nice to me. I’ve been eating more in the last week than I have in the last two years,” said patient Stephen Burke. Mr. Burke talked more about his first impression of the new hospital in a video you can watch here.

NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health Chief of Hospital Police Vincent Martino is a proud Brooklynite and said being part of this historic moment meant a lot to him. You can watch his remarks here.

At a ribbon cutting ceremony this past Tuesday, May 2, Congress Member and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, City Council Members Mercedes Narcisse, Ari Kagan, and Justin Brannan, in addition to Clara Spera, granddaughter of U.S. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Mitchell Katz, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals, were among those in attendance.

RUTH BADER GINSBURG HOSPITAL

The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital includes a storm-resilient design, a flood-proof Emergency Department, private patient rooms and state-of-the-art equipment to serve South Brooklyn and its neighboring communities. Construction of the new hospital was funded by $923 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and includes upgrades to the rest of the health care campus, including a four-foot wall to withstand a 500-year storm and flood-resilient power, heating, cooling, and water systems. The new hospital is a major component of the extensive process to repair and protect the health care campus after sustaining significant damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Photos and a video of the new hospital are available.

NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital features a new Emergency Department double the size of the current space and located on the second floor to sustain flooding and ensure continuity of care during natural disasters.

Other amenities at the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital include:

• A surgical suite comprised of eight state-of-the-art operating rooms
• Robotic surgery
• An endoscopy suite
• Inpatient dialysis
• 80 private medical-surgical beds with panoramic views of Brooklyn and the New York City skyline
• 60 behavioral health beds
• Diagnostic and interventional radiology
• Clinical laboratories

Patients, staff and visitors to the new hospital will also be welcomed by the impressive bronze statue of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg that resides in the building’s lobby. Designed by Gillie and Marc Schattner and donated to the hospital by City Point, the sculpture is 7 feet 2 inches high and weighs 650 pounds.

FAMILY AND PATIENT INFORMATION

As of today, patients and visitors to the Emergency Department, Medical-Surgical, and Behavioral Health, should go directly to the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital at 2601 Ocean Parkway, Avenue Z entrance.

Now that the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital is open, the existing Main Building on the campus will be renovated and renamed as the Health & Wellness Institute. On the first floor will be a modernized, 26,000 square foot ambulatory care practice that will provide patient- and caregiver-centered primary and specialty care in over 50 new exam rooms. The institute will also house outpatient behavioral health services, a comprehensive dental practice, outpatient radiology, a new CT scanner, ultrasound, and 3D mammography equipment.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Bridgette Ingraham-Roberts, NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, 646-937-2945,

About NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health

NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health and its future 371-bed Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital and Health & Wellness Institute is one of the public health system’s 10 acute care health care campuses that offers general and acute medical care to adults and children. The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital will offer modern trauma and emergency care, inpatient services for primary and acute care in general medicine, adult medicine, pediatrics, general surgery, medical and surgical sub-specialties, coronary care, intensive care, obstetrics and gynecology, midwifery, neonatology, critical care, rehabilitation medicine, psychiatry, and behavioral health. Its Health & Wellness Institute with over 40 ambulatory care practices provides patient and caregiver centered primary and specialty care to a primary service area of approximately 875,000 NYC residents of South Brooklyn and the surrounding communities. The hospital has designations as a Certified Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) Center, an Advanced Primary Stroke Center, an accredited Baby-Friendly Hospital, a U.S. News & World Reporthigh performing hospital, a SAFE Center of Excellence under the Sexual Assault Reform Act, Designated AIDS Center (DACs), and Level 2 Perinatal Center.  

About NYC Health + Hospitals

NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.