On the eve of Memorial Day weekend, the Stony Brook East Hampton Emergency Department has opened at 400 Pantigo Place.
The 22,000-square-foot emergency facility, which also features an imaging and diagnostic center, provides health care services that may save lives, as it will sharply reduce the time needed to transport East Hampton Town residents or visitors experiencing a health emergency to a state-of-the-art medical facility. Previously, the nearest emergency room to East Hampton Town was at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital; the time required for emergency medical service providers to navigate the South Fork's summer traffic to the hospital meant a race against time when the stakes could not be higher.
Parts of Stony Brook Southampton Hospital are more than 80 years old, and a new facility on the State University's Stony Brook Southampton campus, farther to the west, is planned. The new emergency department in East Hampton features ample space, high ceilings, and natural light. An ambulance entrance is at the rear of the building.
The off-campus facility will operate 24 hours a day, seven day a week, 365 days a year, including holidays. The facility's imaging center is also open to patients, who can schedule appointments through Stony Brook Southampton Hospital by calling 631-396-6400 Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The emergency department, which is adjacent to the East Hampton Healthcare Foundation building, features advanced diagnostic technologies and life-saving treatments including a dedicated resuscitation room; cardiac monitoring capabilities in every exam room; specialized fast-track treatment rooms for general, pediatric, obstetrics/gynecology, and ophthalmology patients; two isolation rooms; a comprehensive imaging center featuring advanced diagnostic technologies including MRI, CT scan, Ultrasound, and X-ray; an onsite ambulance for hospital transport, and eco-friendly elements including rooftop solar panels, a rain garden, and native plantings.
“At Stony Brook Medicine, we are committed to expanding access to high-quality health care where it is needed most,” William Wertheim, Stony Brook Medicine's executive vice president, said in a statement. “The new Stony Brook East Hampton Emergency Department represents a significant step in ensuring that residents and visitors on the East End have timely access to expert emergency care, reinforcing our mission to deliver world-class health care closer to home.”
In 2019, the East Hampton Town Board unanimously agreed to enter into a 50-year lease agreement, with optional extensions totaling an additional 49 years, with the Southampton Hospital Association for the parcel at 400 Pantigo Place. That agreement followed a 2018 public hearing and came at the urging of officials including the mayor of East Hampton Village, the chief of the Montauk Fire Department, and the chairman of the East Hampton Healthcare Foundation,
More than $32 million has been raised to finance the emergency department, along with a New York State grant of $10 million. "We've had an overwhelmingly positive response from our neighbors," Julia McCormack, president of the Southampton Hospital Foundation, said in December, when construction and outfitting of the emergency department were nearing completion, "but also, there have been a host of other organizations that have joined with us to make sure that we are successful."
“We thank our donors for their generosity and commitment to this ambitious project,” Jim Forbes, chairman of the Southampton Hospital Association and the East Hampton Emergency Department campaign committee, said in a statement.