South Nassau Closes Acquisition of LBMC Assets

OCEANSIDE, N.Y. - Oct. 21, 2014 - PRLog -- On Thursday, October 16^th, 2014, South Nassau Communities Hospital closed on an asset purchase agreement (APA) to acquire substantially all of the assets of Long Beach Medical Center (LBMC), which had been severely damaged by the effects of Super Storm Sandy and had remained shuttered since October 2012.  Under the Asset Purchase Agreement (“APA”) approved by the US Bankruptcy Court in May, 2014, South Nassau agreed to a purchase price of approximately $11.8 million for the LBMC assets, including 5.5 acres of property, buildings and equipment.

“This closing signifies major progress in our effort to fulfill our mission to meet the need for patient-centered healthcare services in Long Beach and surrounding South Shore communities,” said SNCH President and CEO Richard J. Murphy.  “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.”

As approved by South Nassau’s administration and board of directors, the APA will honor the reimbursement of vacation time accrued by more than 450 hospital-based employees up to and through the shuttering of LBMC.  Over the coming weeks, South Nassau will issue individual checks to the former employees in the cumulative amount of $1 million in recognition of the valuable service these individuals had provided to their community in serving their health care needs.

The APA closing took place shortly after a Letter of Understanding (LOU) with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was executed. The LOU states that FEMA may approve reimbursement for 90 percent of South Nassau’s investments of up to $176.9 million of its own funds on significant development of new healthcare facilities, programs and services (including emergency services) that serve areas of high community need, including Long Beach and surrounding communities.

A key service that South Nassau will review is an off-campus hospital-based emergency services department in Long Beach.  Last spring and summer, the South Nassau Urgent Care Center at Long Beach and the nearby Family Medicine opened, providing hospital-grade medical care to the community.

Prior to the closing, SNCH initiated a comprehensive engineering assessment of the substantial damage to LBMC’s facilities.  Using professional third-party engineers and architects with previous experience with both Hurricane Katrina and Super Storm Sandy, we expect the process to be completed in November.  Their report will provide information that is essential to developing a long-range plan to make the greatest impact with, and most efficient use of, South Nassau and FEMA funds, both at the LBMC campus and regionally.

South Nassau looks forward to a successful revitalization and development of patient-centered healthcare services that meet the needs of residents of Long Beach and surrounding communities.  The hospital deeply appreciates the efforts of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, U.S. Congressman Peter King, Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York Senators Dean Skelos and Kemp Hannon, Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, Legislator Denise Ford and Long Beach City Manager Jack Schnirman and the members of the City Council for their for their steadfast and unilateral support.

About South Nassau Communities Hospital

Designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), South Nassau® Communities Hospital is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 435 beds, more than 900 physicians and 3,000 employees.  Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health and emergency services.  In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, South Nassau provides emergency and elective angioplasty, and is the only hospital on Long Island with the Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery technologies.  South Nassau is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons and is an accredited center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality Improvement Program.  In addition, the hospital has been awarded the Joint Commission’s gold seal of approval as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care; and disease-specific care for hip and joint replacement, wound care and end-stage renal disease. For more information, visit www.southnassau.org.