New medical pavilion will soon open in Long Beach, 10 years after Sandy's devastation
LONG BEACH, N.Y. -- It's being lauded as a major step forward in medical care for some Long Island residents.
In Long Beach, a new state-of-the-art medical pavilion will soon open on the barrier island, which currently doesn't have a hospital.
Overlooking Reynolds Channel, the barrier island was under mandatory evacuation orders following Superstorm Sandy's devastation.
"Sandy happens and, unfortunately, Long Beach Medical Center is literally under water," said Joe Calderone, senior VP of Mount Sinai South Nassau.
The existing hospital went into bankruptcy and closed, leaving the 35,000 residents of Long Beach struggling. Mount Sinai South Nassau then bought the property.
"This is the fulfillment of a promise that Mount Sinai South Nassau made about 10 years ago after Sandy," Calderone said.
With state and FEMA funding, it first opened a 24/7 Emergency Department, and now, just down East Bay Street, a state-of-the-art medical pavilion.
"The community has gone through so much through so many years with Hurricane Sandy, recently with COVID," Mount Sinai South Nassau cardiologist Dr. Michael Sood said.
Now, a consortium of doctors are lauding the move.
"Long overdue and a well-deserved facility for the community. It might not replace a hospital, but it is the next best thing," cardiologist Dr. Jason Esses said.
But not everyone in the community approves.
"They gave us an emergency room, which is wonderful, and now we have this, but we still don't have a hospital here," 89-year-old Long Beach homeowner Alba King said.
St. John's Episcopal in Far Rockaway and Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside are the closest hospitals to Long Beach, both about five miles away.
"I'm having surgery tomorrow, and I'm going to Mineola," 80-year-old Harvey Cohen said, referring to his need to travel because of the lack of a facility in Long Beach.
"A hospital here could only help. That is just a basic need that I think everyone should have," resident Justin Liu added.
Studies show 15% of emergency room visits here require hospitalization. City leaders are praising the efforts of the health system.
"There is a whole sector of the economy down here in Long Beach that was lost when the hospital closed, and this starts to rebuild that sector of the economy," Long Beach Acting City Manager Ronald J. Walsh Jr. said.
Four hundred appointments per day can be scheduled there.
