Eastern LI Hospital Weathers Storm Well

Thorough storm preparation and a tidal surge that was less than expected in strength helped staff at Greenport’s prevent any sort of damage to the hospital — and patients got to stay during over the weekend.

CEO Paul Conner said on Monday that a series of dams were built alongside Stirling Harbor, the body of water next to where the , and he made the final decision late last week not to evacuate staff or patients to

“If we saw that the storm was going to take a more easterly track we would have evacuated about 48 hours beforehand,” he said. “But this place hasn’t flooded in 106 years and the surge never made it over the bulkhead.”

Connor added that most patients staying at the hospital at the moment are behavioral patients who can walk and many could have gone home if needed. A shelter was set up for those who needed critical care in the event the storm took a turn for the worst.

“We had about 15 beds for those patients prepped but we had only a few patients in the ER,” he said. “We lost power for about seven hours on Sunday, but we were able to power essentials by generators.”

About 50 patients were staying at Eastern Long Island Hospital during Hurricane Irene.