The last hospital to remain closed following Superstorm Sandy may just stay that way if the New York Health Department has anything to say about it.
According to The Associated Press, officials at Long Beach Medical Center are engaged in an ongoing public feud with the state Health Department which wants to shut the hospital down permanently, saying “the facility has been bleeding money for years and should merge with its closest competitor if it wants to continue providing health services.”
The hospital is a 162-bed facility located on a waterfront channel near the Atlantic Ocean. It suffered heavy damage in the October storm when the basement flooded, destroying the building's boiler plant and morgue, and forcing officials to move the pharmacy to the third floor. The building's sprinkler system also had to be replaced because of concerns that saltwater might have compromised pipes, the article says.
Officials estimate repairs at the Long Beach hospital could be as high as $100 million, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to fund a majority of the cost.
The Health Department insists the hospital's financial problems, not Sandy, led to the current stalemate, the AP says.
According to the article, Long Beach residents have collected 11,000 signatures for a petition demanding a resolution. Hospital officials plan to meet with state Health Department officials Friday in an attempt to broker a truce.
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