Peninsula Hospital shutting down emergency room

The cash-strapped Peninsula Hospital in Far Rockaway is closing down all its emergency room operations beginning today as it continues to search for a solution to its debt and potential buyers.

This week, the hospital stopped accepting ambulances, redirecting them to St. John's Episcopal Hospital two miles to the east. The policy follows a state Department of Health order to the hospital to stop admitting new patients.

A sign placed in the emergency room area of the hospital reads: “Peninsula Hospital Center will not be accepting any emergency department patients as of 11 p.m. Wednesday, August 24, 2011.”

The hospital is one of only two serving the 130,000 residents of the 11-mile long Rockaway peninsula.