Good Samaritan Hospital breaks ground on $500M expansion

Catholic Health Services on Wednesday broke ground on a $500 million expansion of the Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center which will include a new patient care pavilion.

The expansion of the West Islip facility has been in the works since at least December 2019 when the hospital submitted plans to the state health department. The 300,000-square-foot addition will include an upgraded adult and pediatric emergency department, 16 operating rooms, an enhanced surgical suite — to accommodate the growing number of minimally invasive procedures — and three floors of private patient rooms. 

There will be shell space for future expansion of an additional two floors that can accommodate more patient rooms, hospital president Ruth Hennessey said at the groundbreaking. The total number of patient beds will not increase and will remain at 437, the hospital said. Hennessey said the upgrades will "attract the best and brightest physicians" to the hospital. 

Bishop John Oliver Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre spoke during the ceremony about the hospital’s mission to live up to its name of “Good Samaritan.”

Catholic Health CEO Patrick O’Shaughnessy told attendees that what is now a parking lot will be transformed into the pavilion in three years. The modernization will greatly improve access to care, he said. 

O’Shaughnessy touted other recent expansions, including a new mother and baby unit and private labor delivery suites. 

"We are leading cutting edge care here at Catholic Health," he said. "The future of health care is here now, and is here at Good Samaritan." 

By Brinley Hineman

brinley.hineman@newsday.com

Brinley Hineman covers the Town of Hempstead and the City of Long Beach for Newsday. She previously was a reporter in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a West Virginia native.