Sale of LBMC to South Nassau finalized

SNCH closes deal after reaching an agreement with FEMA over Sandy aid

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The long-discussed sale of the long-shuttered, Hurricane Sandy-damaged Long Beach Medical Center to South Nassau Communities Hospital, in Oceanside, was finalized on Thursday — five months after a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approved it.

South Nassau President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Murphy said the two facilities concluded the $11.8 million sale, which not only allows South Nassau to move forward with its takeover of the facility and the establishment of a free-standing emergency department, but will lead to a public forum with the state Department of Health that residents have been calling for.

The closing means that South Nassau acquires LBMC’s assets, including 5.5 acres of property, buildings and equipment.

“This closing signifies major progress in our effort to fulfill our mission to meet the need for patient-centered healthcare services in Long Beach and surrounding South Shore communities,” Murphy said. “We’re moving from a complex transactional stage, with intricate legal and regulatory requirements, to a transformational one in which we will focus on how we can provide new medical services.”

At a meeting with Herald editors on Friday, the final sale closing, Murphy said, hinged on an agreement between South Nassau and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which pledged to release $176.9 million in Hurricane Sandy aid to South Nassau to redevelop health care services in Long Beach and surrounding communities.

Murphy explained that the closing came after months of negotiations between FEMA and South Nassau, and both parties approved a “letter of undertaking” late Thursday, stating that the agency will release the funds to South Nassau. South Nassau received a draft of the letter from FEMA earlier this month, which the hospital sent back for clarification.

“We’ve been in negotiations with them for about three months, trying to get some assurance that … we would in fact be eligible to make claim on the FEMA damages,” Murphy said. “And that was the last step in the process of trying to actually close on the asset purchase agreement.”

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