Community Corner

LBMC Emergency Unit On Life Support

State wants hospital services to merge with an area facility.

The Long Beach Medical Center, closed since October after Hurricane Sandy caused $56 million in flood damages, may have to cease its acute care services after the New York State Department of Health proposed this measure due to a statewide surplus of hospital beds as admissions decline.

In the absence of an acute care center the 162-bed hospital would no longer have a functional emergency room, nor in-patient services, though it may be permitted to provide some urgent care services, just not on around-the-clock basis, according to the Long Beach Herald.

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The Health Department, who said LBMC is ranked 9th on a list of the state’s 42 most financially distressed hospitals, has proposed that the hospital merge with another area facility, possibly South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside.

About these proposals, an LBMC spokeswoman told the Herald:

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“We feel that the community deserves more than that. Given the size and geographic isolation of the community, an acute-care hospital with emergency services is clinically appropriate and can be financially viable.”

Barrier island patients with medical emergencies have been transported to South Nassau Communities Hospital, Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, and other area hospitals since the storm. Some local officials believe that the trips to these facilities take too long, putting patients at risk, and are urging the Health Department and state lawmakers to permit LBMC’s acute care services to continue.

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