Long Beach Medical Center’s Return Still in Limbo

The Long Beach Medical Center has completed all the restoration work necessary to reopen the emergency department after Hurricane Sandy, but LBMC still has not received approval from New York State Department of Health to move forward.   

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Instead, the state has imposed two specific requirements on the hospital: develop a financially viable plan to provide health care services and merge with another hospital or health care system.

Sharon Player, LBMC’s director of public affairs, said the LBMC Board of Trustees is open to a merger and is in discussions with a possible partner, South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside.

“The Board of Trustees has already made it clear to the Department of Health that they are ready and willing to merge with a larger hospital or system due to the challenges of the rapidly changing healthcare environment, the financial pressures mounting on healthcare providers and the need for greater size and capacity to plan for the future,” Player said.

Regarding the hospital’s financial plan, Player said LBMC’s board is in consultation with a nationally recognized health care consulting firm to develop “a financially sound, clinically appropriate plan based upon the needs of the community.”

That plan includes a 911-receiving emergency department and the services to support it, as well as services that would generate revenue to offset the cost of the emergency department, Player said.

“This plan effectively downsizes the medical center from 162 inpatient beds to 80 inpatient beds while maintaining essential emergency services and would operate at a break-even rate or possibly generate minor revenue,” she said.  

But the Department of Health rejected this plan because it includes acute care services or inpatient beds, and instead recommends a freestanding emergency department without the capability to receive 911 ambulances and no inpatient beds, Player said.   

She added: “Having a free-standing emergency department without other revenue-generating services is projected to operate at an estimated loss of $5 to 7 million annually, which is not financially sustainable.”

Due to the barrier island’s geographic isolation from the county’s mainland, particularly during the summer months when traffic peaks and boat traffic frequently causes the draw bridges to delay access to the mainland, the board believes residents of the island need a 911-receiving emergency department and the necessary clinical services to support its functioning, Player said.

“Although healthcare economics pressure the Medical Center to remain closed, the Long Beach geography requires that it be reopened,” Player said. “The board views the need for a fully responsive emergency capacity as an absolute requirement and looks forward to continuing to work with the Department of Health and a partner to further refine the plan to build a bridge to a solution to this problem.”

In June, City Council President Scott Mandel sent a letter to Dr. Nirav R. Shah, commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, calling on him to expedite the restoration of services at LBMC, with a

priority toward emergency/urgent care capable of receiving 911 calls.

“I am aware that transportation time has tripled as patients in need of emergency medical care are transported to hospitals outside of the City,” Mandel wrote. “This can delay the patient’s receipt of proper medical care provided by an emergency room.”

The Department of Health did not respond to Patch’s requests for comment for this story.