Photo credit: Stony Brook University Newsroom
By JD Allen
Managing Editor
Eastern Long Island Hospital, a Suffolk County-based voluntary hospital, has voted to approve an affiliation with Stony Brook University Hospital. The potential deal with the century-old, 90-bed hospital is not definitive as of yet, though is seen as a transition that will help the residents of the North Fork of Long Island, Eastern Long Island Hospital Chairman Thomas E. Murray said.
“Our Board has deliberated over the past several months and has focused on a strategic partner that will assist Eastern Long Island Hospital in fulfilling its mission and that will best address the evolving healthcare needs of our community,” Murray said.
Stony Brook University Hospital serves as Suffolk County’s only tertiary care center and Level 1 Trauma Center. It is part of Stony Brook Medicine, which represents Stony Brook University’s entire medical enterprise.
Eastern Long Island Hospitals board of trustee decision was the last of three East End Hospitals to announce which larger health system it was going to merge with. Peconic Bay Medical Center chose to merge with North Shore-LIJ three months ago joining the nation’s fourteenth largest health system. Six months ago, Southampton Hospital announced it would merge with Stony Brook University Hospital. That decision has since strained the East End Health Alliance. The three-hospital coalition — including Eastern Long Island Hospital, Peconic Bay Medical Center and Southampton — will allow the now-joined community hospitals to pool their resources.
“While the delivery of healthcare and especially hospital care is rapidly changing, becoming a part of Stony Brook University Hospital will allow Eastern Long Island Hospital to make this complex transition while continuing to carry out our long-time promise to the community. The hospital has been here for 110 years and this affiliation will ensure that the healthcare needs of the community are met for years to come,” Paul J. Connor III, president and CEO of Eastern Long Island Hospital, said.
Stony Brook University Hospital and Eastern Long Island Hospital is starting to collaborate planning to develop a long-term strategic plan to insure current and future healthcare needs are addressed.
“Eastern Long Island Hospital’s decision to pursue an affiliation with Stony Brook is an important first step towards advancing our collaboration to ensure that residents of the North Fork of Suffolk County and beyond, have continued access to high-quality coordinated care close to home,” Kenneth Kaushansky, senior vice president for Health Sciences and dean of the Stony Brook University School of Medicine, said.