SIUH, Southside Hospital receive DOH approval to reopen

After evacuating more than 1,000 patients, Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, NY, and the north and south campuses of Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) have received state Department of Health (DOH) approval to begin accepting inpatients on Sunday evening.

While more than 1,000 of their inpatients were transported to other hospitals within the North Shore-LIJ Health System in the 48 hours leading up to Hurricane Irene's arrival, SIUH and Southside both continued to keep their Emergency Departments open throughout the storm. In fact, about eight individuals who came to the Southside ED during the storm on Saturday night and Sunday morning with cardiac conditions, stroke and other serious medical issues were stabilized and then transported to other North Shore-LIJ hospitals, where they were admitted. SIUH had a full complement of specialists available throughout the storm.

Over the course of the next two days, SIUH and Southside patients who were evacuated to other North Shore-LIJ facilities may be transported back or discharged, depending on their medical conditions.

In addition to the evacuations at Southside and SIUH, a total of 70 nursing home patients from seven different facilities in the Rockaways and Long Beach were brought late Saturday evening to North Shore University Hospital's Stern Center for Extended Care and Rehabilitation in Manhasset, Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center in New Hyde Park, and Franklin Hospital in Valley Stream. Nassau University Medical Center (an affiliate of North Shore-LIJ) also accepted many patients from Long Beach Medical Center, which was also evacuated. At the request of New York State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah, MD, and the New York City Office of Emergency Management, North Shore-LIJ ambulances also assisted Saturday evening with the transport of 125 patients from city nursing homes to Park Slope Armory and New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, and Metropolitan Hospital Center in Manhattan. In addition, numerous individuals who lost power in their homes showed up during the storm at North Shore-LIJ hospitals seeking shelter from Hurricane Irene.

"In an extraordinary display of teamwork and advanced emergency preparedness, employees and physicians from throughout the North Shore-LIJ Health System established a safe haven for more than 5,000 patients, outside nursing home residents and others seeking shelter during the first hurricane to hit the New York metropolitan area in 26 years," said Michael Dowling, North Shore-LIJ's president and chief executive officer. "I am incredibly proud of our employees' and physicians' efforts during the days leading up to the hurricane, their willingness to rise to the occasion during the midst of the storm, as well as the challenging work they'll be embracing in the days ahead as we strive to get back to normal operations."

While North Shore-LIJ hospitals escaped major damage, several were operating on emergency power as of Sunday evening. Because of advanced planning and the availability of on-site fuel supplies, North Shore-LIJ facilities are capable of running for days on back-up power.

Besides reopening SIUH and Southside, North Shore-LIJ is making arrangements to transport the 70 nursing home patients from Long Beach and the Rockaways back to their facilities, once the state DOH certifies that those buildings are safe to reoccupy.