Long Beach ER closes due to shortage of vaccinated nurses, officials say
'We regret having to take this step'
The Mount Sinai South Nassau Off-Campus Emergency Department in Long Beach. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
Hospital officials said they planned to close the barrier island’s only emergency room to maintain staffing levels at the hospital's main campus in Oceanside.
Long Beach patients will be redirected to Oceanside, and an ambulance will be stationed at the ER at all times, Newsday's John Asbury reports.
Hospital officials notified the state Department of Health on Friday and filed a formal closure plan, according to a hospital release. Officials made the plan to close the emergency room after the state ordered Thursday that any remaining staff seeking temporary religious exemptions be suspended if they didn't have a valid medical exemption or proof of receiving a dose by Monday.
Hospital officials said about 99% of its staff is vaccinated, but about 100 hospital staff members of the 3,500 employees sought vaccine exemptions.
"We regret having to take this step, but the safety of our patients is always our No. 1 priority," hospital president Adhi Sharma said. "This will allow us to shift nursing staff to the Oceanside campus to ensure that we maintain adequate staffing at the Emergency Department at our main campus."
The closure could last up to a month or be extended depending on staffing availability.
The number of new positives reported today: 348 in Nassau, 459 in Suffolk, 1,307 in New York City and 5,401 statewide.
The chart below shows the percentages of Long Islanders who have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and those who have been fully vaccinated.
The latest figures represented at right are 78.62% with at least one dose, and 70.93% fully vaccinated. Credit: Newsday
Search a map of new cases and view charts showing the latest local trends in vaccinations, testing, hospitalizations, deaths and more.
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