South Nassau Communities Hospital, Long Beach Partner to Improve EMS Ambulance System

Oceanside, NY, April 18, 2015 --(PR.com)-- South Nassau Communities Hospital will partner with the City of Long Beach to augment the City’s existing ambulance fleet by providing secondary backup for 9-1-1- ambulance calls.

Under an agreement between the hospital and Long Beach, South Nassau ambulances stationed at the current Urgent Care Center in Long Beach will respond when needed as backup for 9-1-1 calls. South Nassau ambulances will be staffed by a paramedic who will be able to communicate with a physician trained in emergency medicine to ensure proper treatment on the scene or while a patient is en route.

“South Nassau has made a major commitment to improve medical services on the barrier island in the wake of Superstorm Sandy so this agreement with the City of Long Beach to provide secondary backup for 9-1-1- ambulance calls is a logical next step as part of our overall plan,” said Richard J. Murphy, President & CEO of South Nassau Communities Hospital. “This move should help improve response time for residents while better coordinating emergency care. We commend the City of Long Beach for taking steps to improve its pre-hospital EMS system and are proud to partner with the City on this important initiative.”

City officials praised South Nassau for agreeing to step forward to help the City improve its EMS response.

“As recommended by public safety experts, the City and South Nassau are now working together to augment the City’s existing ambulance fleet with South Nassau’s ambulances, and institutional capabilities, creating synergies that will result in enhanced services for residents on our barrier island,” said Long Beach City Manager Jack Schnirman. “With more ambulances, at a lower cost, we are clearly ensuring a greater level of safety than ever before.”

“These ambulances provide the latest in pre-hospital care, using state-of-the-art technology-based solutions to coordinate patient care, during peak time hours, by paramedics staffed in advanced life support equipped ambulances,” said Fire Commissioner Scott Kemins. “It is also important to note that these ambulances will be secondary responses to our internal unit of paramedics.”

South Nassau’s involvement in the Long Beach EMS partnership will be overseen by Dr. Joshua Kugler, Chair of Emergency Medicine and Emergency Services Director who also serves as Chair of the Nassau County Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee. “This partnership is designed to improve the quality of emergency medical services for the residents of the barrier island,” said Dr. Kugler. “The way to improve patient outcomes is to provide proper treatment in the field where every moment matters before a patient even reaches an Emergency Room. We will be working closely with the City’s corps of paid and volunteer first responders to coordinate the best approach when we are called as backup to the City’s existing EMS response system.”

South Nassau announced last month that it intends to invest $5 million to upgrade its current Urgent Care Center – located on the grounds of the former Long Beach Medical Center – to an off-campus Emergency Department by July 1 (pending NYS Department of Health approval) that will operate 24/7 and will be able to receive ambulances via the 9-1-1 system. This move is expected to significantly reduce turnaround time for volunteer and paid ambulance crews across the barrier island. South Nassau’s Emergency Department in Long Beach will be staffed by nurses and physicians trained in emergency medicine. In addition, South Nassau has announced plans for a two-story, 30,000 sq. ft. Medical Arts Pavilion that would be the permanent home of its off-campus Emergency Department.

The EMS partnership with Long Beach combined with the off-campus emergency services department in Long Beach are two essential steps of South Nassau’s plan to improve medical services for barrier island residents.
Contact
South Nassau Communities Hospital
Damian J. Becker
516-377-5370
southnassau.org
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