Politics & Government
Legislature Approves Consolidating East Hampton, Southampton Health Clinics
Clinics will be brought under one roof in Southampton under a new partnership.
The Suffolk County Legislature on Tuesday approved a plan put forth by County Executive Steve Bellone to consolidate the county-operated family health centers in Southampton and East Hampton into one federally qualified health center in Southampton Village — a move that is said to save taxpayers millions.
The vote tally was 13 to 0, with five legislators abstaining.
The Suffolk County Health Center at East Hampton on Accabonac Road and the Kraus Family Health Center at Southampton are currently operated by the county, but under the proposal they will both be moved under the roof of the Southampton Hospital annex and operated in partnership between Suffolk County, Southampton Hospital, Stony Brook University and Hudson River HealthCare.
The county expects that the move will save taxpayers $3.8 million over five years and that the new center will offer improved health services.
Federally qualified health centers are Medicare “safety net” providers designed to enhance primary care in underserved communities.
The Southampton Hospital annex, located in an office park at the end of Meeting House Lane, will undergo a renovation to accommodate the new use and meet federally qualified health center standards. The new clinic will be financed through a $2.2 million state health care grant through the Health Care Efficiency and Affordability Law program, according to Bellone's office, and Southampton Hospital has committed $700,000 toward the renovation through a separate HEAL grant.
"We are very excited about this new partnership and the unique opportunity it creates to expand primary care services, improve access and provide a new site to train the future generation of doctors for our South Fork communities," Southampton Hospital President and CEO Robert Chaloner said. “With rapidly changing healthcare, partnerships such as this are exactly what will be needed to improve care for all the people we serve.”
To assuage concerns that East Hampton residents will have trouble getting to the new facility, Bellone's office stated that the new clinic is on a public transportation route and transportation policies are being developed to ensure East Hampton patients can easily access it.
Bellone said the consolidated clinic will be open for more hours and will include dental and mental health services that are not available at the existing health centers — all while saving money.
“This initiative is a win-win," Bellone said, "offering improved health care service at a lower cost to tax payers — that represents government working at its best.”
In 2012, the county similarly converted the Elsie Owens Health Center at Coram into a federally qualified health center operated by Hudson River Health Care, saving taxpayers $1.7 million, according to Bellone’s office.
