{"id":328054,"date":"2025-12-03T13:31:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T13:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/328054\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T13:31:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T13:31:13","slug":"good-samaritan-university-hospitals-500-million-expansion-opens-with-new-emergency-department-private-rooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/328054\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Samaritan University Hospital’s $500 million expansion opens with new emergency department, private rooms"},"content":{"rendered":"

After $500 million and three years of massive construction, Good Samaritan University Hospital’s 300,000-square-foot pavilion\u00a0will start accepting patients this month, as\u00a0Catholic Health\u00a0upgrades its flagship Suffolk County facility in the increasingly competitive Long Island health care market.<\/p>\n

With an eye toward dropping the drab medical facility aesthetic associated with hospitals, the lobby is drenched in natural light, the waiting rooms have plush, comfortable seats and the children’s emergency room has touch screens and relaxing aquatic video to soothe young patients and visitors. The addition of single-patient rooms in the expanded\u00a0emergency department\u00a0should help\u00a0reduce wait times, hospital officials said.<\/p>\n

The West Islip hospital\u00a0is one of the busiest on the South Shore, with about 91,000 emergency room visits and approximately 30,000 discharges every year.<\/p>\n

“This is taking the health care that we do very well and intersecting it with better hospitality, better experience,” said Dr. Justin Lundbye, president of the hospital and a cardiologist.<\/p>\n

WHAT NEWSDAY FOUNDA new $500 million, 300,000-square-foot patient pavilion at Good Samaritan University Hospital opens this month, featuring more amenities for patients and state-of-the-art medical equipment.The new pavilion features a 70,000-square-foot emergency department, more single-patient rooms and larger operating rooms.The emergency department has single-patient rooms instead of beds separated by a curtain to help reduce time in the waiting area.<\/p>\n

The six-story structure has a 70,000-square-foot emergency department \u2014 larger than a football field \u2014 with 75 individual rooms that are about 150 square feet, replacing the old model of curtains separating beds.<\/p>\n

“Our existing emergency department is way too small,” said Lundbye, adding that it sees about 250 to 320 patients per day. “This allows us to take care of patients more quickly, get the care that they need and get them to the right destination.”<\/p>\n

The hospital is a Level 1 trauma center for adults, and a Level 2 for children.\u00a0“Everything\u00a0that’s ever needed, we can accommodate right here at Good Samaritan,” he said.<\/p>\n

The project, the largest undertaken by Catholic Health,\u00a0comes as Long Island’s other health systems are also making significant investments in facilities.\u00a0As part of the metropolitan area, it has the second-most competitive market for inpatient hospital care<\/a>\u00a0in the United States, according to a 2024 study by nonpartisan health policy group KFF.<\/p>\n

Stony Brook University Hospital on the North Shore has 628 patient beds, the largest number in Suffolk County, followed by Good Samaritan’s 458. Stony Brook recently opened a new free-standing emergency department in East Hampton.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/p>\n

Dr. Justin Lundbye, president of Good Samaritan University Hospital, in the new patient care pavilion. Credit: Barry Sloan<\/p>\n

Since Northwell Health acquired\u00a0South Shore University Hospital, formerly known as Southside Hospital,\u00a0in nearby Bay Shore in 1996, officials estimate they have\u00a0spent over $1 billion<\/a>\u00a0to transition it from a community to regional hospital. That includes\u00a0a $468 million pavilion<\/a>\u00a0under construction and new\u00a0Women and Children\u2019s Center that\u00a0features additional private rooms.<\/p>\n

“The single-patient room is a trend we are seeing nationally,” said Janine Logan, a spokesperson for the Suburban Hospital Alliance of New York State. “It\u2019s driven by evidence that such an environment leads to better outcomes and safety, including reduced spread of infection, reduced recovery time, and\u00a0enhanced privacy for the patient and the family members.”<\/p>\n

The new pavilion at Good Samaritan also includes 16 operating rooms ranging from 500\u00a0to 850 square feet. Upgraded imaging machines are in the rooms with larger CT scanners close by if needed.<\/p>\n

“The operating rooms are larger because we\u00a0have a lot more equipment in the room, a lot more staff,” Lundbye said. “Everything is digital and it integrates perfectly with our electric medical record system.”<\/p>\n

The 36 private patient rooms have screens that allow\u00a0them to view their medical records, dim the lights, call a nurse and select entertainment.\u00a0They also have pullout couches to accommodate family members.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An operating room in the new $500 million patient care pavilion at Good Samaritan hospital in West Islip. Credit: Barry Sloan<\/p>\n

Officials broke ground<\/a> for the project on the\u00a0hospital’s large campus that faces Montauk Highway in 2022.\u00a0In the following years, more than 30 West Islip residents who live nearby\u00a0filed lawsuits<\/a> against Catholic Health, construction companies and other contractors\u00a0saying their homes had been damaged due to vibrations from the ongoing work. They estimated the damage was over $10 million.<\/p>\n

In court papers, the hospital responded that it’s taken steps to address concerns and\u00a0if there were any damages or injuries, they were the “result of unavoidable circumstances that could not have been prevented by any person.” Earlier this year, Good Samaritan officials told Newsday the complaints were related to work on a flood resiliency project, not the pavilion. The hospital campus sits near the Great South Bay.<\/p>\n

“The doctors and the hospital do miraculous work,”\u00a0Denise\u00a0Branigan, of West Islip, who along with her husband, Brian, is part of the lawsuit, said in an interview Tuesday. “They saved my son. I have nothing against enhanced medical buildings but this is the\u00a0third holiday I’m living in a damaged house, and it’s damage we can’t afford to fix.”<\/p>\n

Officials will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the pavilion on Wednesday, and it officially opens to\u00a0patients on Dec. 14.<\/p>\n

\"Lisa<\/p>\n

\n\tLisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After $500 million and three years of massive construction, Good Samaritan University Hospital’s 300,000-square-foot pavilion\u00a0will start accepting patients…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[28,97,252,253,5478],"class_list":{"0":"post-328054","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-health-care","11":"tag-healthcare","12":"tag-suffolk"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}