State green-lights Peconic Bay Medical Center’s merger with North Shore-LIJ

The state has given final approval for Peconic Bay Medical Center to join the North Shore-LIJ Health System.

State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker has approved recommendations from the New York State Public Health and Health Planning Council to dissolve the East End Health Alliance that included PBMC, and Southampton and Eastern Long Island hospitals, and has approved a separate measure making the North Shore-LIJ Health System the active parent of PBMC.

In addition to state approval, the Federal Trade Commission’s 30-day review period has also concluded.

“In this time of great healthcare transition, we thank the New York State Department of Health and the many members of our community who strongly supported this North Shore-LIJ-PBMC partnership,” PBMC president and CEO Andrew Mitchell said today. “Together we plan to develop and expand much-needed clinical services for the 200,000 men, women and children who rely on PBMC for their healthcare needs.”

PBMC becomes North Shore-LIJ’s 21st hospital, joining Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, Huntington Hospital, South Oaks Hospital in Amityville and dozens of outpatient physician practices in Suffolk County.

“As exciting as it is for North Shore-LIJ to expand our services into central and eastern Suffolk County, the true beneficiaries of this new relationship will be the thousands of individuals and families who entrust their care to Peconic Bay Medical Center,” Michael Dowling, president and CEO of the North Shore-LIJ Health System said in a statement. “We are committed to strengthening and expanding Peconic Bay’s clinical services, and building a network of outpatient facilities that will establish the hospital as a regional destination for top-flight medical care.”

North Shore-LIJ expects to complete the merger with PBMC by January, when PBMC’s current contract with Stony Brook University Hospital for the operation of its emergency and radiology departments will expire, Terry Lynham, North Shore-LIJ’s vice president for public relations told RiverheadLOCAL last month.

PBMC announced on March 27 its intention to merge with North Shore-LIJ. Southampton Hospital and Eastern Long Island Hospital decided to become part of the Stony Brook health system, hailed by elected officials as Suffolk County’s first integrated health care system.

In explaining their decision to choose North Shore-LIJ over Stony Brook, PBMC board members pointed to North Shore’s commitment to investing in building major regional programs they say are desperately needed on the East End, especially cardiac and trauma care. East End residents who need coronary angioplasty can’t get the lifesaving procedure at any of the three East End hospitals; most are rushed by ambulance to Stony Brook, a drive that takes more than an hour. Trauma victims — mostly people injured in automobile accidents — also currently have to be transported to Stony Brook, either by ambulance or helicopter.

“Health care is local,” executive vice president and chief operating officer Mark Solazzo told RiverheadLOCAL in April.“You’ve got to take care of the community and where you can do it safely is where you should do it.”

In keeping with that philosophy, NSLIJ invested about $300 million in Southside Hospital in Bay Shore since it took over its operation in 2005, transforming it into a tertiary care hospital — the only one in Suffolk County besides Stony Brook.

Opening a cardiac catheterization lab at Peconic Bay Medical Center will be North Shore’s top priority, North Shore will also move to upgrade PBMC’s trauma treatment capabilities, so trauma victims can also be treated closer to home, Solazzo said.