LBMC Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

As speculated, Long Beach Medical Center filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday.

The hospital, severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after months of suspicion from Long Beach officials and those involved at the facility.

Ray Ellmer, of the hospital's Board of Trustees, said in December the hospital would "definitely" declare bankruptcy to "get rid of some debt." A final date had not yet been decided at that time.

The 162-bed hospital shuttered in October 2012 after damage from Hurricane Sandy as 10 feet of water flooded its basement. The flooding wreaked havoc on the facility, causing $56 million in damages.

In the year before Sandy struck, LMBC brought in $55 million in revenue while racking up $59 million in expenses, according to The Real Deal. According to the report:

South Nassau Communities Hospital will acquire all the real estate and operating assets of the hospital and its affiliated nursing home — the Komanoff Center — at their appraised value, Crain’s reported. Long Beach Medical, which reported $21 million in assets and $48 million in liabilities as of Dec. 31, also borrowed $1.5 million from South Nassau a few weeks before the bankruptcy filing.

FEMA will also continue funding facility restoration, said the report.

South Nassau reportedly "plans to open a freestanding, 24-hour emergency department that would receive 911 calls later this year in Long Beach," on top of an urgent care center that would open as early as May, said Newsday.

The need for urgent and emergency care is at the forefront of city leaders' minds.

"We recognize the immediate need for a functioning hospital and emergency room, and we will not stop fighting until we have what we need," City Council Vice President Fran Adelson told Newsday.