New Northwell Health facility coming to Merrick

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A new multi-specialty health care facility commissioned by Northwell Health will open in Merrick on Sept. 16. Signs with the company’s logo hang on either side of a building at 2119 Merrick Road — formerly Total Fitness — showing the latest location for Northwell’s Physician Partners Medicine Specialties group.

Merrick’s facility
The Merrick location joins a network of 15 other multi-specialty centers across Long Island, New York City and Westchester staffed by Northwell Health doctors in over 100 specialties, creating a “one-stop shop” for patients, said spokesman Terry Lynam.
What distinguishes Physician Partners centers from the system’s 750 local outpatient facilities, Lynam said, is that they offer access to an array of medical services where patients live and work. The integrated approach reflects a growing trend to provide both primary care services and clinical specialties in one place for patients’ convenience, he added.

“Many patients who are seeing a primary-care physician are referred to treatment in other areas,” Lynam said. “Here, all their health care needs are met at the same location or at least nearby.”
The 11,100-square-foot facility was renovated and equipped at a cost of $4.5 million, Lynam said. It will have a staff of 10 primary-care physicians, as well as clinicians who specialize in cardiology, endocrinology and endocrine surgery. The space comprises 17 exam rooms, four of which are dedicated to cardiovascular health, including one room for stress testing and another for echocardiograms. A ribbon-cutting is scheduled for Nov. 8.

Bellmore’s facility
Northwell recently opened a Physician Partners facility in Bellmore as well. It employs nine primary-care physicians and clinicians in rheumatology, pulmonology and neurology. Gastroenterology specialists will be added next year, Lynam said. Since opening on May 28, the center has treated hundreds of patients.
The center occupies a 16,640-square-foot space at 1872 Bellmore Ave., which was renovated and equipped for $4.5 million, and includes X-ray capabilities. There are eight exam rooms dedicated to pulmonary care to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other lung-related issues. One of the eight exam rooms is designed for pulmonary function testing, which measures lung capacity.
There are 11 exam rooms dedicated to neurology, including one room for electromyography, or EMG, testing, which is used to evaluate and record the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. In the rheumatology department, specialists are able to diagnose and treat various conditions related to arthritis.
The facility is now a member of the Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores. In a statement, Chamber President Jim Spohrer said, “The Northwell multi-specialty facility will be an asset for our local residential and business communities . . . and [we] look forward to working with them.”
Lynam said that Northwell would dedicate the Bellmore Physician Partners center with a ribbon-cutting on Oct. 11. “We’re looking forward to celebrating with the community,” he said. “Bellmore is a key location, and we’re eager to provide convenient, high-quality services to the residents who live there.”
The Herald Life reached out to residents via Facebook to ask what they thought of the new Northwell centers. Pablo Marcelo, of Bellmore, wrote that the facilities offer “increased access to health care” and would benefit residents.
The cost of health care, he said, “continues to be an issue for a lot of people. Even if increasing competition doesn’t directly drive down cost, it could at least hopefully motivate more doctors to accept more varieties of insurance."