South Nassau on track with pavilion
South Nassau Communities Hospital opened a free-standing emergency room at the Long Beach hospital, above, in 2015. Credit: Newsday / Alejandra Villa
The headline “New ER for Long Beach is canceled” [News, Nov. 10] implied that South Nassau Communities Hospital had pulled back from our commitment to restore health services on the Long Beach barrier island.
On the contrary, South Nassau is moving forward with a proposed $40 million Medical Arts Pavilion on the site of the former Long Beach Medical Center that will host highly skilled physicians, including OB/GYNs, pediatricians, urologists, cardiologists, as well as geriatrics and lab and imaging services.
South Nassau’s free-standing emergency department in Long Beach, which has had in excess of 31,000 visits since its opening more than three years ago, will remain in operation around the clock and continue to receive ambulances via the 9-1-1 network. The current Long Beach emergency department was completed at a cost of $14 million and has patient satisfaction scores in the 90th percentile for such facilities nationally. It is an excellent facility that will complement the new pavilion.
Once the new pavilion is open, South Nassau, along with the federal and state governments, will have invested $78.8 million in restoring health services to Long Beach following superstorm Sandy, including $38 million already spent.
Far from “canceling” our plans, South Nassau is committed to developing the potential of the former Long Beach Hospital campus to better serve residents of the barrier island.
Joseph J. Fennessy,Wantagh
Editor’s note: The writer is chairman of the board at South Nassau Communities Hospital.
