Done deal: Sale of Long Beach Hospital is final

The sale of Long Beach Medical Center to South Nassau Communities Hospital was finalized last week, after South Nassau reached an agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to release nearly $180 million in Hurricane Sandy aid to SNCH to redevelop health care services in Long Beach and surrounding communities.

In a meeting with editors of the Herald newspapers last week, South Nassau President and CEO Richard Murphy said the two facilities had concluded the $11.8 million sale on Oct. 16, which not only allows South Nassau to move forward with its takeover of the facility and the establishment of a free-standing emergency department, but will lead to a public forum with the state Department of Health that residents have been calling for.

South Nassau is acquiring 5.5 acres of property, as well as LBMC’s buildings and equipment. The sale does not include LBMC’s Komanoff Center for Geriatric and Rehabilitative Medicine.

“This closing signifies major progress in our effort to fulfill our mission to meet the need for patient-centered health care services in Long Beach and surrounding South Shore communities,” Murphy said. “We’re moving from a complex transactional stage, with intricate legal and regulatory requirements, to a transformational one in which we will focus on how we can provide new medical services.”

The sale closing, Murphy said, hinged on FEMA’s agreement to release the Sandy funds to South Nassau.

Murphy said that South Nassau remained committed to establishing a 911-receiving emergency department with ambulance services, and that the facility might include 20 to 30 beds for short-term care in order to hold patients until they are stabilized, at which point they would be transferred to South Nassau or a hospital of their choice.