Long Island Community Hospital, NYU Langone take next step in merger

Long Island Community Hospital has completed the next step in its merger with NYU Langone Health, the Manhattan-based health care system said Tuesday.

NYU Langone and LICH have received federal and state approval for NYU Langone to become the "active parent" of the Patchogue facility, NYU Langone said. The transaction got a green light from the state Department of Health on Feb. 25, state records show.

NYU Langone has said it plans to spend $100 million on the first round of upgrades to the 306-bed hospital, the region’s last remaining independent hospital. Long Island Community Hospital is still a separate corporation, but now that it is formally affiliated with NYU Langone it can draw on the health care system's resources, NYU Langone said. A full merger is expected to take about three years.

Improvements are planned for the hospital's electronic records system as well as the emergency room, operating rooms and other facilities. The health care system also plans to hire more physicians and other staff for a medical practice offering primary, specialty and surgical care.

Richard T. Margulis will remain president and CEO of Long Island Community Hospital, which includes a surgical pavilion, cardiac care center, two outpatient wound care centers, hemodialysis facilities, home care, and primary care offices, NYU Langone said. The facility's name is expected to remain unchanged for now, though it is expected to take on the NYU Langone name in the future.

Margulis said in a statement, "Our partnership with NYU Langone brings remarkable resources and new technologies to our organization that will take our capabilities and quality of care to new levels."

Long Island Community Hospital "is a valuable addition to NYU Langone Health’s network on Long Island and will play an integral role in expanding the breadth and depth of our health care services to Long Islanders," said Dr. Joseph Greco, senior vice president and chief of hospital operations at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island in Mineola, formerly Winthrop Hospital.

NYU Langone said in the two years since it merged with the Mineola hospital, the patients' average length of stay at the hospital has decreased by nearly 20% due to improvements in efficiency and clinical care.

NYU Langone and Long Island Community Hospital started discussing a possible merger last April.

By Maura McDermott

maura.mcdermott@newsday.commauramcdermott

Maura McDermott covers health care and other business news on Long Island.