Deer Park Fire Commissioner Anthony Macaluso says the wait times at two South Shore hospitals are too long, and are bound to get worse.

Macaluso says walk-in patients and those taken by ambulance are waiting 35-45 minutes at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip and Southside Hospital in Bay Shore.

He says the problem is only going to get worse because of an expected increase in calls during the busy summer beach season.

Good Samaritan Hospital met with Deer Park fire officials a few weeks ago and told them about their plan to renovate their emergency room. The renovations include opening an observation unit for patients who will not require admission, employing a dedicated EMS nurse who will triage patients as they arrive and rearranging the triage area.

Southside Hospital says it's planning to triple the size of its ER.