L.B.'s emergency department opens

Local officials gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday to mark the opening of South Nassau Communities Hospital’s new free-standing emergency department in Long Beach, the first emergency facility to operate on the barrier island since Hurricane Sandy.

Courtesy Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky

South Nassau Communities Hospital opened the doors of its free-standing emergency department on Monday, and the facility has already seen a steady stream of patients.

Courtesy South Nassau Communities Hospital

State Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky, at podium, County Legislator Denise Ford, third from left, and other officials spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Courtesy Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky

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South Nassau Communities Hospital’s free-standing emergency department opened on Monday on the site of the former Long Beach Medical Center campus, and has already seen a steady influx of patients.

Local officials including State Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky, Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, City Council Vice President Fran Adelson, former Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg and Island Park Mayor Michael McGinty attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday morning to mark the opening of the new facility.

“This will be a state-of-the-art emergency room that we can be proud of,” said Kaminsky, adding that he worked closely with the State Department of Health to have the facility approved to open as quickly as possible.

The opening comes nearly three years after Hurricane Sandy forced the closure of the medical center, and a month after the facility was originally slated to begin operations, pending final approval from federal and state regulatory agencies. The emergency department, at 325 E. Bay Drive, will operate as a 911 ambulance-receiving facility, and will offer 24-hour emergency medical care to barrier island residents.

According to South Nassau’s senior vice president of communications, Joe Calderone, the department saw a total of 23 patients on Monday, one arriving by ambulance. On Tuesday, 26 patients were taken to the facility, eight by ambulance. Calderone said those numbers already show an increase over the patient volume at the urgent-care center South Nassau previously operated on the site, which saw an average of 10 to 12 patients a day.

“We are getting positive comments from both patients and the EMS crews that have used the facility so far,” Calderone said.

“This brand new emergency department includes the latest diagnostic equipment and will be staffed by South Nassau-trained emergency department physicians and nurses,” added Richard Murphy, SNCH’s president and chief executive officer.