Patiently waiting? Delays keep Shelter Island Med Center closed

At the beginning of the month, Supervisor Gerry Siller said that there was no certain date when the town’s Medical Center would re-open. As of early this week, that hasn’t changed.

At Tuesday’s Town Board work session, Councilman Jim Colligan said the Center, closed since the middle of December, has an opening date that is still “unknown.”

In early December, when the town and Stony Brook University Hospital signed a five-year lease agreement taking effect Jan. 1, the opening date, after renovations to the facility, was announced as Feb. 1.

On Tuesday, Mr. Colligan estimated that the Center could be open for patients in late March or early April, but didn’t give an exact date. 

Mr. Siller noted that Dr. Peter Kelt, who will occupy the rear office at the Center, is “waiting for his insurance approvals … I reached out to Peter and he said they haven’t been denied, they’re just waiting for paperwork to go through.”

Renovation delays have played a part in keeping the Center closed, Mr. Colligan said. Department of Public Works crews have installed new floors, plumbing and electrical work, but they’re waiting for cabinets to be delivered and installed. In addition, IT work has not been completed, the councilman said. 

Mr. Colligan noted there’s also a wait for “final staffing decisions.” He added that “we need to stay in touch with Stony Brook-Southampton to gain more information,” and “push them along.”

Dr. Kelt has not received word on staffing decisions, Mr. Colligan said, but plans are that a nurse practitioner will be assigned for a five-day, 40-hour week, and Dr. Kelt will work four, 10-hour days. The Center will be staffed Monday through Saturday every week.

Mr. Colligan said that Dr. Kelt is “restless, and a little frustrated,” waiting to see patients. “He’s so interested in caring for patients that he’s willing to go pro bono the first opening weeks.”