South Nassau Communities Hospital has completed an $8 million transformation and upgrade of its Long Beach Urgent Care Center to Long Island’s first off-campus Emergency Services Department that will operate around the clock and be able to receive ambulances via the 9-1-1 system once final regulatory approvals have been obtained later this summer.

The extensive upgrade was completed in less than three months – meeting a scheduled July 1st goal for construction completion.

The rebuilt facility – which now includes a three-bed observation unit and special treatment areas for infectious disease and behavioral health cases - will reopen its doors to the residents and visitors of Long Beach and barrier island communities temporarily as an Urgent Care Center on July 1, pending final federal regulatory approval.

As an Urgent Care Center, the facility will retain its current hours of operation of 9:00 am - 9:00 pm Monday – Friday; and 10:00 am - 8:00 pm on Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays. It will not receive ambulances via the 9-1-1- system.

South Nassau has been working closely with the New York State Department of Health to open the Emergency Department in Long Beach, including to obtain final federal and state approvals of its application to operate. Specifically, South Nassau is awaiting approval from the U.S. Centers of Medicare and Medicaid to allow South Nassau to operate the Long Beach Emergency Department using a newly installed emergency power backup system. A federal waiver concerning the emergency backup system – which was endorsed by the New York State Department of Health - is needed before South Nassau can operate the facility as an Emergency Department. The current upgrade included installation of a "Type 3" emergency back up electrical system, which provides for battery power backup for up to 90 minutes and a natural gas powered, stand-alone generator.

Additionally, proficiency testing is underway as part of the state certification process of an on-site lab that is required before the Emergency Department at Long Beach can open.

South Nassau had hoped to begin operating the facility as an Emergency Department beginning on July 1st and has been working with state regulators to ensure that the highest levels of emergency patient care are maintained at the Long Beach site. "This project was completed in record time," said South Nassau's President & CEO, Richard J. Murphy. "We hope the Long Beach community will continue to use the Urgent Care Center while we undergo these additional regulatory reviews, which are required before we can open as a full-fledged, off-campus Emergency Department. Our goal is to open as an Emergency Department as soon as we are legally able to do so."