Good Samaritan University Hospital stroke center gets record gift from former P.C. Richard CEO
The gift is the second largest in Good Samaritan University Hospital's history. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Catholic Health is renaming its stroke center after Gary H. Richard, former president and CEO of P.C. Richard, who gave Good Samaritan University Hospital the largest single gift in its history, the health system said.
Catholic Health declined to specify how much Richard, a longtime South Shore resident, gave to the Stroke & Brain Aneurysm Center of Long Island. Good Samaritan's second largest contribution was $1.7 million from upstate philanthropist Charles E. DeClerck in 2015, Catholic Health said.
The center, which launched at Good Samaritan in 2018, treats brain aneurysms or bulges in blood vessels; strokes, where blood vessels leak in the brain or blood flow is blocked; and other conditions that impact blood flow to the brain.
The Rockville Centre-based health system said it will use the gift to expand surgical space and enhance the center at the West Islip hospital. The money will create a hybrid operating room, where staff can perform minimally invasive blood clot removals from the brain, in a forthcoming patient pavilion.
Funds will also be used to bolster the transcarotid artery revascularization practice, where patients can be treated with small incisions with very little impact, and support the addition of a second "biplane" operating room, which will allow staff to more efficiently handle high volumes of patients and perform simultaneous procedures, Catholic Health said.
"I know personally how crucial it is to have qualified specialists on demand and at your bedside," Richard said in a statement. "It is with our deep, personal and sincere gratitude to have this great opportunity to support ... the Stroke & Brain Aneurysm Center."
Richard's grandfather started a hardware store in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, that grew into the electronics and appliance retailer P.C. Richard & Son, according to a history on the company's website. In the 1950s, the retailer expanded to Long Island and Gary and his brother, Peter, began working in the firm full-time.
Gary became the president and CEO in 1980 and ushered P.C. Richard through another period of growth, the company website said. His son, Gregg Richard, and a nephew, Peter C. Richard III, now run the firm.
The Gary H. Richard and Family Stroke & Aneurysm Center is one of 25 facilities in New York — and five on Long Island — certified as a comprehensive stroke center by the state, according to a Department of Health list updated in November. The classification means the centers are capable of handling the widest array of strokes and related issues.
U.S. News and World Report ranked Good Samaritan as "high performing" in stroke care.
"Despite our many firsts and numerous accolades, our biggest honor has been the impact we have had on our patients' lives," said Dr. Kimon Bekelis, chairman of neurointerventional services for Catholic Health and medical director of the Stroke & Brain Aneurysm Center. "Grateful patient philanthropy humbles us and demonstrates that impact."
Catholic Health said it would also rename Good Samaritan's neuro intensive care unit after the Richard Family.
Sarina Trangle covers affordability and cost of living issues and other business topics. She previously worked as an editor and reporter at amNewYork.
