State Health Officials OK Closing Summit Park

The New York State Health Department has OK’d Rockland County’s plan to close Summit Park Hospital and Nursing Care Center.

County Executive Ed Day said his administration would move expeditiously to move everyone still at Summit Park to other facilities, so the county-owned hospital can be shut down by Dec. 31.

A deal to sell the facility fell through in September.

However, the buyer, Sympaticare, has said it is still interested in making a deal -- even taking over and operating the facility before the real estate title is transferred.

Speaking for Sympaticare, Shalom Braunstein said in an interview with Patch that the county’s LDC had reached out to him to see if a deal were still possible.

One of the sticking points for Sympaticare, that the Rockland County Legislature had not OKd the deal by a super-majority vote, is gone, he said, since the lawmakers voted 17-0 (after the deal had soured) to approve it. That would also make the union’s lawsuit against the sale moot, he said, as the suit was based on the fact that the county hadn’t followed its charter by getting a supermajority vote.

He said there’s a real need for a long-term care facility in Rockland. And he said Sympaticare had planned to spend $37 million to refurbish the facility.

Here’s Day’s complete statement:

We received word today that closure plans for both Summit Park Hospital and Summit Park Nursing Care Center have been approved by the New York State Department of Health. In accordance with these plans, Summit Park management will immediately begin notifying all relevant constituencies and working with our residents and their families to transition them to the most appropriate and qualified care setting for each individual. We are committed to doing all we can to ensure that these life transitions go smoothly for all involved, and that the health and safety of our residents remain our number one priority. The approvals provide certainty to our county as we move forward on the path to fiscal health. Residents and family members with questions regarding the closure are asked to contact Summit Park Administration at (845) 364-2700.