Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport facing worker shortage

Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport has requested hanging banners to recruit applicants across town, as the hospital tries to tackle a worker shortage.

“The foundation president came to me to discuss efforts that they’re making to promote people to consider working [at the hospital],” Southold Supervisor Scott Russell said. “They are really having difficulty staffing the hospital and they need help.” 

Mr. Russell noted that he was asked about some busier roads in town and said that if the hospital wants to hang anything along Main Road, they will need to contact the state Department of Transportation. 

The town would set the criteria for the size of the banners and how long they could remain up, Mr. Russell said.

There was no opposition to the idea from Town Board members at their work session Tuesday morning. The board also plans to consult Highway Superintendent Dan Goodwin.

In a statement, ELIH officials attributed the shortage to the pandemic. According to the statement, hospital operations haven’t been impacted, but officials hope the townwide banners will create awareness and express the hospital’s desire to hire locally, particularly for nursing and laboratory technology roles.

Apart from the banners, ELIH has been pursuing various other strategies to recruit potential hires, including job fairs, social media campaigns and offering bonus incentives, officials said.