Southampton Hospital

Southampton Hospital, a 168-bed hospital, in Southampton, New York, is the only hospital in the Hamptons.

First Lady of the United States Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her sister Lee Radziwill were born at the hospital, also artist, Ian Hornak died at the facility.

It is a member of the Stony Brook University Medical Center. It was a member of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System from January 2005 to July 1, 2008. [ [http://www.southamptonpress.com/story_detail.cfm?id=155410 "Southampton Hospital to strike a new deal with Stony Brook University Medical Center"] ] The hospital admits more than 6,000 patient/year and has about 26,000 emergency room visits (with half being during the summer season). [ [http://www.hamptonclassic.com/PECONIC/HAMPTON/me.get?WEB.websections.show&PEC1117_638 Our Beneficiary Southampton Hospital - Hamptons Classic] ] [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9504E0DC1F30F933A15755C0A9629C8B63 Health Care, Hamptons Style by Steven Gaines - New York Times - June 20, 2004] ]

The hospital was founded after a 1908 when Doctors Wheelwright and Schenck operated on a patient by kerosene light in the attic of Southampton house after they did not have time to transfer the patient (who survived) to the nearest hospital. They initially rented two rooms for a hospital in a house on Hampton Road. Business soon boomed and cots were placed in the hallway and more rooms were rented. [ [http://www.southamptonhospital.org/hospital/history.php How Southampton Hospital Came to Be - Southampton Hospital official history] ]

In 1909 the Southampton Hospital Association bought the Hervey J. Topping house on the corner of Lewis Street and Meeting House Lane and planned to build the hospital on an adjoining lot.

In 1911, Samuel Parrish donated 2.5 acre on Old Town Road, stretching from Meeting House Lane to Herrick Road, where the present hospital was built opening in 1913. The hospital has expanded since then.

The hospital is the beneficiary of the funds raised at the Hampton Classic Horse Show which is one of the biggest social events of the summer season.

In 2004 a massive outcry forced it to back down from a fundraising plan called Southampton Plus that offered V.I.P. rooms at the hospital. Individuals (for $3,800) and families (for $6,000) could get around-the-clock on-call medical advice and care, same-day doctors' appointments, home visits and access to the V.I.P. room. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9B05EED81238F934A15755C0A9629C8B63 Southampton Hospital Drops V.I.P. Idea by Nancy T. Tilghman - New York Times - June 27, 2004] ]

Affiliated with the hospital are:
* Westhampton Primary Care Center
* Centers for Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (located in East Hampton and Westhampton Beach)
*David E. Rogers, M.D. Center for HIV/AIDS Care
*Shinnecock Indian Health Clinic
*Southampton Care Center (a skilled nursing facility)
*Southampton Hospital Regional Dialysis Center
*Center for Prenatal Care at Greenport
*Diagnostic centers (one in East Hampton and the other in Hampton Bays)

Proposed downsizing

In 2006 the Berger Commission in an attempt to streamline medical costs in New York State recommended the hospital downsize to 125 beds and merge with Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport, New York and Peconic Medical Center in Riverhead, New York with a strong recommendation that Brookhaven Memorial Medical Center in Brookhaven, New York also join the entity. The merged hospitals would continue to operate separate hospitals. The Commission has recommended that the hospitals formally affiliate with Stony Brook University Hospital. [ [http://www.gnyha.org/4759/File.aspx A Plan to Stabilize and Strengthen New York's Health Care System - Long Island Acute Care Recommendations - December 2006] ]

Proposed Move

In 2007 the hospital announced it is considering selling its 12-acre property in a residential neighborhood and building a whole new hospital closer to a highway. No exact location has been announced but it was noted in articles that 400 of the hospital's 600 employees live west of the Shinnecock Canal. [ [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Southampton_Hospital&action=edit&section=1 Is Southampton Hospital To Be On The Move? - Dan's Papers - August 17, 2007] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.southamptonhospital.org/ Official site]