NEW YORK, NY October 22, 2008 —The medical staff at one of Brooklyn’s oldest hospitals is in a fight with the hospital’s owners. Continuum Health Partners announced plans to trim operations and shrink Long Island College Hospital to half its current size. WNYC's Fred Mogul has more.

REPORTER: Continuum, which also runs St. Luke’s-Roosevelt and Beth Israel hospitals in Manhattan, calls the Cobble Hill facility “the hub” of its medical services in Brooklyn. But Continuum says Long Island College Hospital doesn’t see enough patients, loses money and should halve its size to become viable. It would do that by eliminating whole departments, including labor and delivery, and by cutting 150 positions, or about 7 percent of its work force. The medical staff is asking the state Health Department to allow it to sever its relationship with Continuum. For WNYC, I’m Fred Mogul.