South Nassau opens urgent care at LBMC site

South Nassau Communities Hospital opened a new urgent care center this week at 325 E. Bay Drive, adjacent to the Long Beach Medical Center. It’s the hospital’s first step in restoring medical services to Long Beach.

The new South Nassau Urgent Care Center at Long Beach, which opened on July 1, will be staffed with board-certified emergency medicine physicians, as well as emergency medicine nurses, some of who provide care at South Nassau’s Oceanside emergency department. Upon state approval, South Nassau says it will transition this to an urgent care center with 911-receiving capabilities.

In February, the Long Beach Medical Center — which had remained closed since Hurricane Sandy — filed for bankruptcy, setting the stage for its potential takeover by South Nassau. In May, South Nassau acquired the hospital after it submitted the winning bid of $11.7 million.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, City Manager Jack Schnirman said that the city is glad to see medical services return to Long Beach, but that the process is not over.

“This is an important step forward, and the City Council will not stop advocating on behalf of residents until all medical services we need on the barrier island are restored,” Schnirman said. “While it is a good start, we’re all still eager to see a fully functional, 911-receiving emergency room restored here on the barrier island.”