Eastern Long Island Hospital finalized its merger with the Stony Brook Medicine healthcare system and, effective July 1, is providing care under Stony Brook University Hospital’s New York State operating license, Stony Brook Medicine announced last night.
The 90-bed Greenport hospital agreed to join the Stony Brook system in 2015. ELIH will now be referred to as Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital.
ELIH, established in 1905 as Suffolk County’s first hospital, was one of two remaining independent community hospitals on Long Island. The last, Long Island Community Hospital (formerly Brookhaven Memorial Hospital) is entering into negotiations with Stony Brook for a possible merger, according to Newsday.
Southampton Hospital merged with Stony Brook in 2017. The third and largest hospital on the East End, Peconic Bay Medical Center, merged with North Shore/LIJ in January 2016. (North Shore/LIJ subsequently changed its name to Northwell Health.)
“One of the principal goals of the of Stony Brook/ELIH is to work collaboratively with Stony Brook University Hospital and Stony Brook Southampton Hospital to increase care, particularly specialized outpatient services… and address healthcare gaps for East End residents,” Stony Brook Medicine said in a press release.
“By welcoming Eastern Long Island Hospital into the Stony Brook Medicine Hospital System, we remain on the cutting edge of healthcare, implementing new strategies to improve the health of the communities we serve,” Stony Brook’s medical school dean Kenneth Kaushansky said in the press release.
ELIH first became affiliated with Stony Brook in 2006, while it and the other East End hospitals were part of a healthcare alliance that allowed the three community hospitals to pool administrative resources and negotiate together with health insurance companies.
“With the help of Stony Brook Medicine, ELIH has gradually grown its footprint during the past few years,” said SBELIH chief administrative officer Paul Connor III, former president and CEO of Eastern Long Island Hospital.
“We welcomed neurological surgery and urologic oncology specialists, and we now have general surgeons from Meeting House Lane Medical in Southampton performing procedures in our Surgical Center of Excellence. I’m gratified that we can offer all these new programs and services to our community,” Connor said.
State Senator Ken LaValle, who has championed the concept of a Stony Brook-led health care system for Suffolk County, said he is pleased that
“our shared vision of increasing accessible, quality, affordable health care across the East End today becomes a reality with the addition of Eastern Long Island Hospital into the Stony Brook Medicine healthcare system.”
While the primary service area is the North Fork and Shelter Island, SBELIH provides regional behavioral health programs for the greater Suffolk County area with medical-surgical services, critical care, psychiatry, and drug and alcohol detoxification and rehabilitation services, according to the press release.
ELIH Foundation will continue to be governed by its local board of directors and all funds raised by the foundation and auxiliary will remain local, the hospital said.
“As in the past, ELIH will make business decisions locally based on the needs of the community and, at the same time, will gain the support of a large, successful healthcare system,” according to the release.
“This is an exciting time for Eastern Long Island Hospital,” ELIH board chairman Thomas Murray, Jr. said. “Becoming part of the Stony Brook Medicine family allows us to continue our mission, offering the best possible care to our patients and community.”
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