South Nassau to discuss plans for LBMC campus, emergency department

Hospital officials organizing a “public information day" for residents in March

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South Nassau Communities Hospital formally announced Wednesday that it is planning to hold a community meeting in Long Beach sometime in March, where residents will be able to speak to hospital officials about its plans for the former Long Beach Medical Center campus.

The announcement comes after SNCH said this week that it plans to convert its urgent-care center into a freestanding emergency department by July 1, and that it would operate 24 hours a day and accept ambulances.

Residents and local officials have been demanding a public meeting for more than a year, in the wake of LBMC’s closure after Hurricane Sandy and after South Nassau acquired the hospital last year.

Last week, the City Council sent a letter to SNCH Chief Executive Officer Richard Murphy calling for a public forum, while State Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky wrote to the New York State Department of Health, saying that the absence of a hospital on the barrier island has created a “dangerous and untenable situation” for residents. Kaminsky said that the Health Department is required to hold a public forum following the closure of a hospital and issue a report on how the community’s needs would be addressed.

Though a date and location have yet to be finalized, both the Health Department and South Nassau said a meeting is in the works.

“I am encouraged by the Department of Health’s response, as it has been a long time since anyone has cared about the lack of a hospital in our community,” Kaminsky told the Herald. “The DOH’s involvement is a positive step on our path toward reestablishing key medical services on the barrier island.”

South Nassau said it will hold “a public information day," where barrier island residents will have an opportunity to speak directly to South Nassau officials about its plans.

South Nassau plans to upgrade its urgent-care center, which opened last year on the medical center property, into a free-standing emergency department at a cost of $4.5 million. Murphy said that the hospital intends to file for a certificate of need with the Health Department in March.

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