Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke today commended Governor Cuomo’s decision to keep Interfaith Medical Center open for another thirty days to allow for an agreement that will protect access to health care for the more than two-hundred thousand people who depend on the services available at the hospital.

“We need to establish our priorities, based on our values as a community that believes every person should have access to health care. We cannot allow even a single person to lose access to services – without these services, each of us are at risk of illness and death,” said Congresswoman Clarke, who had previously asked Governor Cuomo to work with federal and state officials to protect the hospital.

Under the agreement between Governor Cuomo and hospital administrators, Interfaith Medical Center will avoid the scheduled closure of ambulance services on December 26, 2013 and the scheduled closure of the hospital itself on January 7, 2014.

Congresswoman Clarke added: “Our work must continue. In the next few weeks, we will demonstrate that Interfaith Medical Center remains a critical part of our community, where thousands of people work to provide the highest quality of health care to a population that has in many instances been underserved. I will work with Governor Cuomo to protect access to health care for the families and children of Brooklyn.”

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.