BOROUGH PARK — On Sept. 17, the New York State Public Health and Health Planning Council voted unanimously to approve a proposed merger between Maimonides Health and NYC Health + Hospitals.
New York State will support the merger with $2.2 billion over five years.
“Today’s vote is a critical step forward towards ensuring high-quality, culturally responsive health care remains available to the residents of Brooklyn,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz.
“We are gratified that the State’s independent panel of health experts recognize that this proposed transaction is appropriate and essential,” Katz said.
“NYC Health + Hospitals is committed to preserving Maimonides’ historic cultural identity and practices and to keeping these values intact as we move forward together,” she continued. “We want Maimonides to remain Maimonides.”
The full Council vote followed a unanimous subcommittee vote in August, which included testimony supporting the merger from several groups, including 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the New York State Nurses Association, the Greater New York Hospital Association and the Healthcare Association of New York State.
Maimonides Health may soon be joining NYC Health + Hospitals. Photo: Jim Henderson/Wikimedia Foundation
“We are grateful that the Public Health and Health Planning Council approved the application to allow Maimonides to join NYC Health + Hospitals, bringing us one step closer to securing the financial support we need to maintain and expand the outstanding care our communities have come to rely on,” said Ken Gibbs, president and CEO of Maimonides Health.
“By joining NYC Health + Hospitals, Maimonides will receive more than $2.2 billion in grant funding over five years, including more than $500 million to adopt a state-of-the-art electronic health record system, upgrade labor and delivery spaces, and make other needed capital improvements,” Gibbs said. “We hope to receive final regulatory and legal approvals this fall.”
In December 2025, Eric Adams, who was mayor at the time, Katz and Gibbs announced the merger. It was expected to be complete before April 1. However, on March 23, the New York Attorney General’s Charities Bureau blocked efforts to secure administrative approval for the transaction.
“The Attorney General’s Office has now confirmed what we have been saying for months: this transaction cannot simply be rubber-stamped and must instead be reviewed by the courts,” said lawyer Martin Bienstock, who represents community institutions and individuals concerned about the merger’s impact on health care quality at the time, in March.
“The transfer of a multi-billion-dollar hospital to the City of New York demands full judicial scrutiny,” Bienstock said.
Earlier this year, NYC Health + Hospitals also announced that Svetlana Lipyanskaya will be the new CEO of Maimonides Health, pending the approval of the partnership. Lipyanskaya has been the CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health since 2020.
The merger still needs approval under New York State law before it can be finalized.