Phelps Memorial looks to join North Shore-LIJ Health System
Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow is the latest community hospital in Westchester to look to affiliate with a larger and well-financed metropolitan hospital system.
A Phelps spokesperson said the hospital”™s board of directors Monday night unanimously approved a letter of intent to explore joining the North Shore-LIJ Health System. The board”™s action allows North Shore-LIJ and Phelps Memorial to begin the due diligence process and exclusive negotiations. The hospitals aim to close on a final agreement by late summer that would make Phelps the first hospital in Westchester County owned by the Great Neck-based North Shore-LIJ.
One of the largest health systems in the U.S., North Shore-LIJ operates 17 hospitals and more than 400 outpatient physician practices on Long Island and in New York City. Its hospitals and long-term care facilities house more than 6,000 beds, employ more than 10,000 nurses and have affiliations with more than 9,400 physicians, according to a joint press release announcing the planned expansion into Westchester. North Shore-LIJ is the largest private employer in New York, with a workforce of about 48,000 people, and the state”™s largest integrated health care provider.
In addition to its medical facilities, North Shore-LIJ operates The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. It directly provides individual and employer health care coverage through its North Shore-LIJ CareConnect Insurance Co. Inc.
Phelps board chairman Richard Sinni in the announcement said the board”™s primary objective in partnering with an academic medical center is “to continue to provide the same, if not enhanced, quality services that our community has come to depend upon. Joining with this world-class health system will enable us to fulfill this objective, while helping to ensure our stability in the changing health care environment. It is an honor to be selected as North Shore-LIJ”™s first hospital partner in Westchester.”
The 58-year-old, 238-bed community hospital in Sleepy Hollow has more than 1,600 employees and treats more than 8,000 inpatients and 325,000 outpatients annually.
North Shore-LIJ president and CEO Michael J. Dowling said Phelps Memorial would continue to operate as a full-service hospital for residents of Westchester and parts of Rockland, Putnam, and Dutchess counties and Fairfield County in Connecticut.
“By working in an integrated and collaborative way with clinical and administrative staff at Phelps Memorial, and investing in new initiatives and programs, we look forward to building on the hospital”™s unique operating niche as a physician- and patient-friendly facility that attracts clinical talent and patients from throughout the area,” Dowling said in the press release.