Plainview Hospital Maternity Ward to Convert to Surgical Center

John Mitty Wednesday, August 14, 2013

The North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System has announced they will be shutting down the maternity ward at Plainview Hospital on November 1^st.  They have plans to convert the maternity ward into a surgical center.  According to a spokesperson from Plainview Hospital, the move came in response to declining birth rates at the hospital’s maternity ward.  In 2011, more than 1,400 babies were born in Plainview’s maternity ward.  This year the hospital is projecting fewer than 1,000, which represents a substantial decline.  Since the births are dropping so rapidly, it no longer makes financial sense for the hospital to maintain the maternity ward when a surgical center would offer more to the community. 

Currently, the maternity ward has 15 beds, which will be replaced by operating rooms and surgical beds.  Pregnant women will need to turn to another maternity ward for care once the ward at Plainview closes, though the converted surgical center will still be performing gynecological surgeries.  Related emergencies will be handled by the hospital’s existing emergency room.  Nearby Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola and South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside will both be receiving patients from Plainview’s maternity ward once the ward closes down in November.  

jmitty@longislandyellowpages.com

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