Medical centers cutting costs after admissions drop

An unusual drop in admissions at many Long Island hospitals earlier this year, apparently sparked in part by fewer flu cases and postponement of elective procedures because of the economy, has forced two medical centers to take steps to cut costs.

Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center in East Patchogue is closing a 30-bed unit and reassigning 44 employees because of a dip in inpatient admissions since the beginning of the year, said Chris Banks, the hospital's vice president of development and external relations.

Banks said Brookhaven's admissions were down at about the same rate as those Islandwide: 2.71 percent for the first quarter compared with last year, according to the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council.

He said the closing was necessary because "we operate on a razor-thin margin like all hospitals in New York State."

Banks said the closing was temporary and that May was showing "a slight uptick" in admissions.

"When the volume returns we will right-size the organization - and we are very optimistic," he said.

Nassau University Medical Center has begun to reduce expenses by $15 million and to cut overtime by $4 million because of a 5 percent drop in admissions at the East Meadow hospital over the same period, said chief executive Arthur Gianelli. He said the hospital had also stepped up marketing efforts to attract new patients.

"May appears to be a better month than the first quarter, since it is stable and not showing the decrease shown during the first quarter," said hospital spokeswoman Shelley Lotenberg.

Hospital administrators attribute the drop to several factors: lower seasonal flu admissions than usual, which typically hit the elderly, and the economy, which has caused people to put off elective procedures.

"We know that we didn't get as much flu this winter as we did last winter," said Kevin Dahill, chief executive of the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council.

"Usually volume is up" at the beginning of the year at the Island's 23 hospitals, Dahill said. He said he expected admission numbers for April would show an increase. If so, he said, "we'll assume it's just a blip."

Neil Abitabilo, president of the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association, which represents 30 hospitals in seven counties in the Hudson Valley region, said admissions had also dropped in his area during the first quarter of 2010, but have started to increase.

The same is true for many Island hospitals. Andy Mitchell, spokesman for the EastEnd Health Alliance, said admissions at the three East End hospitals were also "beginning to come back up."

"Definitely in my years of doing this on Long Island, it was unusual to see the decline," he said.

Christine Hendriks, spokeswoman for Catholic Health Services, said admissions at its five hospitals were down at the beginning of the year but also have been "trending upward."

Some hospitals have seen little or no decline. Admissions at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System's 15 hospitals were essentially flat - down only 0.3 percent - in the first part of the year and are now "trending up," said spokesman Brian Mulligan.

At J.T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson, they have remained near capacity, said spokeswoman Nancy Uzo.

Two Island hospitals have seen an increase throughout: Spokeswoman Sharon Player said Long Beach Medical Center had a spike in admissions at the beginning of the year, which she attributed to the hospital's new orthopedic center.

South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside continued its 13-year upward trend, said Mark Bogen, vice president of finance.

He credited the persistent increase to upgrades in equipment and programs.