Mt. Sinai’s Long Beach Site Emergency Department Temporarily Closes Due to COVID-19 Jab Mandate-Related Staff Shortages

The Mount Sinai South Nassau-operated Long Beach Emergency Department closed Monday afternoon due to staffing shortages caused by the state-issued COVID-19 jab mandate.

After exhausting all options, the hospital was forced to close the facility for at least one month.

The Long Beach site is the only emergency room that serves the 50,000 resident city in Long Island.

While the facility remains closed, an ambulance will remain posted on-site to transfer patients needing emergency care to Mount Sinai South Nassau’s main campus in Oceanside.

The Oceanside campus takes a 15-20 minute car ride to access, which could prove critical when handling emergencies.

The Mount Sinai South Nassau-operated Long Beach Emergency Department will be closed temporarily starting at 3 p.m. Monday due to nursing staff shortages occurring as a result of the state vaccine mandate, according to the hospital. https://t.co/vTlyTcZEHq

— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) November 22, 2021

“The hospital said that the staffing shortage…is a result of…NYSDOH’s mandate…which requires the suspension of any staff working under temporary religious exemptions who cannot show proof of receiving a first dose…or a valid medical exemption” https://t.co/uOkj27x1Vs

— White Mountain Red (@whitemntred) November 23, 2021

https://twitter.com/yasinaslan36/status/1463114395840622598

NBC New York shared additional details:

The hospital said that the staffing shortage and subsequent closure is a result of the hospital’s compliance with the NYSDOH’s mandate issued Thursday which requires the suspension of any staff working under temporary religious exemptions who cannot show proof of receiving a first dose of COVID-19 vaccination or a valid medical exemption from receiving it.

The hospital lost six dozen employees. According to the hospital, all were unvaccinated but working with a religious exemption — an exemption that ended last week. Some of these six dozen employees are ER nurses who the hospital said are not easily replaced due to training and other factors, the hospital went on to say.

The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) was notified of the need to close the free-standing Long Beach Emergency Department (LBED) on Friday and granted verbal approval, according to Mount Sinai South Nassau. The emergency department, which sees about 10,000 visitors annually, will be closed for at least a month.

Although the hospital asked the state for more time to work this out, the request was denied.

“We regret having to take this step but the safety of our patients is always our No. 1 priority,” Dr. Adhi Sharma, president Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital, said in a statement. “This will allow us to shift nursing staff to the Oceanside campus to ensure that we maintain adequate staffing at the Emergency Department at our main campus.”

The hospital said that 99% of Mount Sinai South Nassau’s staff are fully vaccinated, not counting those who sought religious or medical exemptions. The hospital said it is recruiting experienced and qualified staff who can show proof of either a first dose COVID-19 vaccination or a valid medical exemption so that it can resume full operations of the Long Beach Emergency Department by mid-December.

Instead of recruiting new, obedient hospital staff, the hospital should pressure the NYSDOH to end its tyrannical mandate.

Forcing a medical experiment on someone to keep their job is a coercive measure that violates human rights and the Nuremberg Code.

It’s criminal that Mount Sinai and the NYSDOH put healthcare workers in this position after working through COVID-19 for the past 20 months.

They’d rather play politics and exert authoritarian control than save lives.

Tragically, their decision to illegally deny religious exemptions and fire qualified ER nurses will risk the lives of New Yorkers.

But for the six dozen fired healthcare workers, it’s more important than ever to hold the line and keep the pressure on the corrupt medical establishment.