Long Beach Medical and SNCH have been in negotiations since last summer, and they are working on an asset purchase agreement, in which South Nassau would buy the hospital’s property, buildings and equipment, paving the way for the construction of the emergency department. SNCH spokesman Damian Becker said that under the agreement, South Nassau would acquire the operating license of the Komanoff Center for Geriatric & Rehabilitative Medicine, which reopened last year, but not the hospital. 

Becker explained that SNCH must acquire the hospital property in order to build the emergency department, following the opening of an urgent-care center at the site sometime in the spring. LBMC still needs to approve the proposed asset purchase agreement in order to move forward with the emergency department, Becker said, which also needs the approval of a bankruptcy court and any creditors. 

“FEMA is continuing to work with Long Beach Medical Center to determine funding for all eligible recovery work,” a FEMA spokesman said on Monday. “Once a proposal to acquire LBMC is submitted, FEMA can evaluate it in order to determine if the applicant would be eligible for assistance from FEMA.” 

City Council President Scott Mandel, who has been calling on the state to restore emergency medical services at LBMC, said it is “inexcusable” for FEMA to continue withholding the funding. “We have been advocating for a 911-receiving emergency room in the city for over a year now, and these funds could help move that process forward,” Mandel said.

The LBMC campus is also in a residential zone, according to the official, who added that Long Beach Medical could look for another buyer to purchase the property if they can’t partner with LBMC or another hospital.

“They’d go out of the hospital business,” the official said, “and Long Beach Hospital would be forced to sell the land.”

Schumer, however, also called on FEMA to make it clear that only not-for-profit hospitals should be eligible for the funds, to ensure the facility remains dedicated to providing healthcare services.

“We don’t want a real estate developer to come in, purchase this property … and then not provide healthcare for the community,” Schumer said.