Concerns Over Hospital Spread Through Town

Written by Adina Genn.

A plan to phase out inpatient beds at Glen Cove Hospital may have townwide implications.

The plan, announced last week by North Shore-LIJ Health Systems was discussed during the community comment segment at the Oyster Bay Town Hall meeting Tuesday morning.

The proposed changes “are something we all need to be concerned about,” Carol Meschkow, president of the Concerned Citizens of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Community, Inc.

North Shore-LIJ announced Tuesday that it aims to phase out inpatient bed services in January 2014 while also expanding ambulatory surgery center, medical offices, outpatient cancer services, a community health and outreach center, and physical therapy and rehabilitation.

The changes are necessary, hospital officials said, noting that operations are “unsustainable.” The hospital intends to identify job opportunities within the North Shore-LIJ system for workers affected by the changes.

“It’s very troubling across the hospital system,” Meschkow told the town board Tuesday morning. She pointed out that residents in Glen Head, Locust Valley and elsewhere who are in need of services would have to drive to Plainview or Syosset Hospital, when Glen Cove would have been their “first stop.”

Meschkow expressed concern about the impact on Plainview and Syosset Hospitals, pointing out that the number of beds at Syosset had already been reduced.

A spokesman for North Shore-LIJ said Syosset Hospital now has fewer than 100 beds. That site was converted into a minimally invasive surgical specialty and vision care hospital back in the 1990s, North Shore-LIJ officials have said, pointing to its success in repositioning its hospitals in the past.  

Addressing the concerns, Town Supervisor John Venditto said the town and the City of Glen Cove have a “constructive relationship.”

“I will reach out to Mayor [Ralph] Suozzi as to whether something good could or should be done,” Venditto said.

Meschkow encouraged residents to sign an online petition Suozzi created on change.org.