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Some wings of LBMC were ready to open last June
For almost a year, while debate raged over the future of the Long Beach Medical Center, the facility has sat with beds ready to be filled, equipment ready to be staffed and an emergency room ready to admit patients.
The Beach to Bay Central Council of Civic Associations — the community group that has led the fight to secure medical services for the barrier island — was invited last week to tour the shuttered facility, where the emergency room and other wings have been repaired and ready for operation since last June.
The 162-bed hospital closed after sustaining heavy damage during Hurricane Sandy, and even though it made the repairs necessary to open two wings last summer, the state Department of Health blocked it from reopening. Former Health Commissioner Dr. Nirav Shah said that LBMC, which had lost more than $2 million per year since 2008, had failed to produce a sustainable business plan that would meet the needs of the Long Beach community.
The state called on the hospital to close its acute care service and merge with South Nassau Communities Hospital, saying that it should function as a free-standing emergency department with urgent care and primary care services.
This week, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approved the sale of the hospital to SNCH, but just what kind of facility SNCH will run on the barrier island remains to be seen, members of the associations said. BBCCCA founders are pushing for the restoration of full medical services, saying that the 911 ambulance-receiving emergency department proposed by South Nassau isn’t enough to support the barrier island’s population.
“A new hospital brings more jobs, it’s better for our economy and it’s safer for our community,” said BBCCA officer Barbara Bernardino.
A hospital employee brought Bernardino and group co-founders Phyllis Libutti and Dr. Martin Gruber, as well as hospital board trustee Raymond Ellmer, through the hospital last Thursday. The group entered through the emergency room, which appeared to be in perfect condition. The space was clean and organized, and radiology and MRI machines were operable.
