Northport VA Emergency Room Will Stay Open, Senator Schumer Announces

NORTHPORT, NY — A proposal from the Department of Veterans Affairs to reorganize veterans hospitals across the country that would have mostly shuttered the Northport VA was scrapped this week. The plan would have closed the emergency room, and moved most services to other Long Island locations, part of efforts by the government agency to reallocate resources as demographics shift.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Newsday on Monday that the plan will not proceed, after the bipartisan Senate Veterans Affairs Committee issued a statement against the plan.

Schumer also opposes the cuts.

They are "not in keeping with the promise we make to our veterans that when you're older, you'll get good health care,” he said.

Local Long Island politicians also came forward against the proposal in recent months.

In April, Islip Town Councilwoman Mary Kate Mullen pointed out that more than 100,000 veterans living on Long Island rely on the Northport VA hospital for services.