By Nick Buglione
"With this construction, NUMC's mission to provide quality care to all, regardless of ability to pay, will be further enhanced, and will ensure that the residents of Nassau County continue to have access to first-class burn services," said Daniel Kane, president and CEO of the hospital. "NUMC is one of the principal first responders to any terror event or other incident of concern to homeland security. The Burn Center is a critical component of such first response."
Established in the 1950s and last renovated in 1974, the 10-bed unit has needed a face-lift for some time. Work to build a new center had begun previously, though the hospital's financial woes forced it to halt construction. NUMC has lost millions of dollars since the county turned its ownership over to the quasi-public Nassau Health Care Corporation in 1999.
"This was in the works for at least the past four CEOs," said Nelson Finkelman, director secretary of the Nassau County Firefighter's Burn Center Foundation and a former East Meadow fire chief. "They didn't move."
The Nassau County Firefighter's Burn Center Foundation raises thousands of dollars every year to fund NUMC's Burn Center, currently on the 12th floor. Fearing that a new facility would never be built, the foundation fired off a letter on Jan. 7 stating that it was beginning to question "NUMC's ability to maintain the center." The foundation even began considering dissolving its partnership with NUMC and redirecting its money to another area hospital willing to establish a burn center.
"There were no medical problems," Finkelman said. "The Burn Center is the best you can get. [But] the facility is not a nice facility, and we wanted to get the best facility for firefighters and the public we could get. It's a long time coming."
The NUMC Burn Center has been recognized nationally as one of the leading treatment centers for burn victims. In the summer of 2003, 10 firefighters, nine from Oceanside and one from Baldwin, were rushed to the facility after they were burned in a warehouse blaze. They received top-notch care, Finkelman said.
Work on the new Burn Center is slated to begin in June, with the grand opening in February 2006, according to the hospital.
"The staff of the Burn Center is thrilled to be on the leading edge of burn and wound care treatment, and our new center is designed to help promote the recovery and healing of our patients," said Dr. Roger Simpson, head of the center.
The new center will occupy 12,000 square feet on NUMC's sixth floor, and will contain a new four-bed critical-care unit and six-bed acute-care unit.
Each intensive-care room will feature roll-in showers and a free-standing unit shower. The remaining beds will be situated in two semi-private rooms and two isolation rooms. A separate nurse station will serve these beds. The facility will also include a procedure room, a horizontal shower, a physical therapy room and a conference room.
The connecting wing will contain space for outpatient plastic surgery, featuring four exam rooms, a waiting room and office, and an X-ray area.
"The Burn Center has played an indispensable role in treating and saving the lives of hundreds of accident victims and firefighters over the last 50 years," said Lawrence Gottlieb, chairman of the board of directors. "It is of critical importance to the numerous emergencies that occur in this densely populated suburban area."
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
