The North Shore-LIJ Health System and South Nassau Communities Hospital today announced that they have signed a pediatric affiliation agreement.
As part of the affiliation, North Shore-LIJ’s Schneider Children’s Hospital (SCH) will designate a chief of pediatric surgery for South Nassau who will be responsible for all pediatric surgeries performed at the 441-bed Oceanside hospital.
Under the agreement, SCH also will provide South Nassau with:
- Pediatric resident coverage: SCH will provide resident coverage for South Nassau’s Pediatric Inpatient Unit, Delivery Room and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The resident also will support the emergency department physicians on certain pediatric cases.
- Subspecialty Consultations: SCH will provide around-the-clock telephone sub-specialty coverage.
- Pediatric Transport Services: SCH will provide South Nassau with 24/7 transport services using SCH’s pediatric mobile ICU staffed by pediatric critical care nurses and other medical personnel.
In cases where children require a higher level of care, the patients will be transferred to SCH in New Hyde Park. SCH surgeons also will provide around-the-clock telephone coverage on all pediatric surgical emergencies in South Nassau’s NICU and Emergency Services Department.
South Nassau is the only hospital on the South Shore of Nassau County with a Pediatric Unit. The unit is equipped with state-of-the-art pediatric medical technology and houses a four-bed Special Care Unit for patients who require acute monitoring and a multipurpose treatment room to perform minor procedures. South Nassau’s Pediatric Emergency Services Room is staffed with physicians trained in emergency medicine who can recognize and treat the unique conditions of children. In addition, there is a pediatrician available in the emergency room to evaluate and treat children during the peak hours. The Pediatric Emergency Room is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
“This new agreement with South Nassau Communities Hospital builds on the solid foundation of mutual support that already exists between our two organizations,” said Michael Dowling, president and CEO of the North Shore-LIJ Health System. “Working together, we can ensure that no matter how our neighbors access healthcare in the region, they are getting what they need, when they need it.”
“At South Nassau we believe that when organizations committed to excellence collaborate, it results in services and new programs that are centered on the needs of the patients and their families,” said Joseph A. Quagliata, president and CEO of South Nassau. “The ultimate beneficiaries of this partnership are the children and families who rely on South Nassau Hospital to provide comprehensive pediatric healthcare services.”
Philip Lanzkowsky, MD, executive director at SCH, said, “This affiliation is critical in the development of our Children’s Health Network on Long Island, since South Nassau now receives approximately 10,000 pediatric visits in the emergency room and 500 admissions to the pediatric inpatient unit annually. We are eager to assist South Nassau broaden the level of pediatric services available to the communities it serves.”
The pediatric services agreement marks the second clinical affiliation forged in the past year between North Shore-LIJ and South Nassau. In 2006, North Shore University Hospital began working with South Nassau to provide elective angioplasty to the South Shore of Nassau County. Prior to the partnership, residents of the South Shore communities who required elective angioplasty were forced to travel at least 20 minutes to hospitals located north and west of the region.
Source: North Shore-LIJ Health System
