Syosset Hospital Could Lose $1 Million in State Funds

In Gov. David A. Paterson's proposed state budget, Long Island hospitals are slated to lose close to $46 million in funding. If the current budget is passed, Syosset Hospital would see a decrease in funding of about $1 million, according to Terence Lynam, vice president of public relations for the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, which includes Syosset Hospital.

The Healthcare Association of New York State maintains a website, www.helpyourhospital.com, in which residents can type in their zip code to find out about cuts at hospitals nearest to them. Residents can also click on a button to send their legislators a message on the matter.

On the site, Syosset Hospital is combined with North Shore University Hospital, since they are treated as one entity by the state for Medicaid reimbursement purposes. According to the site, total cuts for the Manhasset and Syosset facilities combined would equal approximately $10 million.

"We went into this year anticipating state budget cuts, but certainly nowhere near those proposed in the governor's budget," says Lynam, who added it would be premature to speculate what actions would be taken if the governor's proposed budget is passed. "Certainly program and service cuts would be possible. We would not, however, take any steps that would impact patient care."

The state budget, which is due to be finalized April 1, is for fiscal year 2010-2011, which begins April 1 and ends March 31, 2011.

"If the budget is passed as is, the first programs to go at hospitals will be those in non-critical service areas, such as diabetes education and management programs and perhaps some rehabilitation programs," says Janine Logan, director of communications for the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council Inc., a trade group representing Long Island's public and not-for-profit hospitals.

Cuts in such programs would result in staff reductions and diminished access for patients, she says. "As staff is tightened and/or redistributed throughout the facility, wait times will lengthen at emergency rooms," Logan says. "The situation is different at each hospital and every chief executive officer is right now grappling with how to handle these cuts."

According to a recent Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council Inc. newsletter, reductions in state funding over the past few years have resulted in hundreds of layoffs, the closing of some maternity units and a significant decrease in health screenings and community educational programs at Long Island hospitals.