Civic group on LBMC: Sale is taking too long

Beach to Bay files complaint against medical center, health department

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The Beach to Bay Central Council of Civic Associations, a community group that has led the charge in the last year to restore medical services to Long Beach, filed a complaint with New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office last week against the state Department of Health and the Long Beach Medical Center, saying that the sale of the LBMC to South Nassau Communities Hospital is unfolding at too slow a pace.

In the complaint, the group cites the delay of a public forum that hospital officials pledged to hold, adding that the health department is required by law to hold such a forum within 30 days of a hospital’s closing. The forum will allow residents to voice their opinions for the record, and perhaps find out what caused the hospital’s alleged management problems, the groups says.

The health department explained that it cannot hold the meeting until the hospital is officially closed — meaning that it has forfeited its operating certificate to the department — and said that would not happen until the sale of the hospital was finalized. The sale was initially expected to close by the end of June, but the date was pushed to until July. Now the group is calling on the attorney general’s office to help speed up the process.

The medical center closed after its basement flooded during Hurricane Sandy. In June 2013, after months of repairs, officials said that two wings, including the emergency department, were ready to reopen, but the state health department refused to allow it, and called for LBMC to merge with South Nassau Communities Hospital. Former State Health Commissioner Dr. Nirav Shah cited the hospital’s poor financial management as a major factor in his decision. In May, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approved the sale of the LBMC to South Nassau for $11.7 million.

Frank McQuade, an attorney for the civic associations, filed the complaint, and asked Schneiderman to compel the hospital to give up its operating license and to order the health department to hold the meeting it promised.

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