N.Y. Health Department Push for Long Beach Medical Center Merger

Currently closed Long Beach (N.Y.) Medical Center should merge with its closest competitor rather than simply reopening, the New York State Department of Health has stated, according to an Associated Press report.

The 162-bed hospital — which sustained heavy flooding damage from Hurricane Sandy in October — had fiscal and operational issues that would have necessitated a business model change even without the storm damage, the Health Department said, according to the report.

LBMC ranks ninth on the state's list of financially distressed hospitals and has experienced annual losses of more than $2 million since 2008, state Health Commissioner Nirav R. Shah wrote in a letter to the hospital's board of directors, according to the report. Dr. Shah recommended that LBMC merge with South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, N.Y. , with limited services available in Long Beach.

The LBMC board of directors isn't opposed to a merger, but the Long Beach community needs to retain an emergency department and supporting clinical services, LBMC spokeswoman Sharon Player told the Associated Press. In response to the Health Department's merger proposal, LBMC officials placed an advertisement in local newspapers saying the state "does not want LBMC to reopen as an acute-care hospital," according to the report.

South Nassau spokesman Mark Head told the Associated Press merger talks were ongoing, but he could not provide details because of a nondisclosure agreement.

More Articles on Hospital Mergers:
Religious-Secular Hospital Mergers: How to Make Them Work
State Approves Backus Hospital, Hartford HealthCare Affiliation
Connecticut Hospital Merger Bill to Remain Vetoed