The deal for the former John J. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility, locat- ed in Yaphank between Suffolk County and Long Island Community Hospital, was sealed in November 2016, for $15 million. Besides offering hemodialysis, Medicaid-assisted living beds, behavioral health and drug rehabilitation, LICH CEO and president Richard T. Margulis said the hospital would be looking at offering primary care. Between architectural, engineering and construction work as well as leasing, Margulis said at the time, he hoped the 181,749-square-foot building would be up and operating early 2018. Currently empty, Margulis offered the building as a long-term solu- tion to fighting the coronavirus.
“That building is equipped and the perfect solution for a whole cohort of patients,” Margulis said, explaining that the building could be used either for COVID-19 patients or for average hospital patients, which would open up the main hospital in East Patchogue for dealing with the virus.
According to Suffolk County Legislature presiding officer Rob Calarco, decisions on temporary hospitals are being made very quickly, and engineers are currently evaluating what it would take to stand the Foley building up for use. However, he said, the Army Corps of Engineers is seeking locations that can be converted in a very short time frame like the Javits Center, with plenty of open space for portable equipment. The Foley center, however, could be the perfect long-term solution with rooms for patients in the future.
“The Foley center is still being considered, but as more of a longer-term solution, not in the immediate efforts,” Calarco added.
Currently, Long Island Community Hospital has about 205 beds, with plans to increase by over 100 with current staff and equipment. However, Margulis’s plans to reach 400 beds would require additional staff and equipment. His best suggestion, he said, is to allow the Army Corps to come in and make changes to the John J. Foley center to help accom- modate up to an additional 500 patients.
“I am very interested in offering the Foley center as a facility to help care for patients temporarily as we face this pan- demic,” he added. “It’s an empty building; it [just] needs staff and supplies. It’s easier than building a tent hospital or taking a building that needs work; it’s a physical space that needs to be retrofitted for the longer haul.”
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here