Mount Sinai South Nassau's new emergency department doubles space, adds private exam rooms
A new high-tech addition to Mount Sinai South Nassau’s emergency department scheduled to open Wednesday is part of a doubling of the department’s space that includes private exam rooms rather than the open, curtained-off areas where patients were seen previously.
The space is the first completed part of the four-story, $150-million Feil Family Pavilion under construction in Oceanside.
The new space adds three triage rooms, where patients not arriving in an ambulance undergo initial assessment, and six private rooms specially designed for patients with mental health conditions.
A door separates them from the rest of the emergency department, offering more tranquility, said Dr. Jay Itzkowitz, emergency department chair.
"It’s just a way for them to start the healing process as soon as they walk in and not have all this noise and stimulation that can at times exacerbate some of their symptoms," he said.
The rooms can be used for any type of patient, including those with purely medical problems, but "if we have a behavioral health patient who might be at risk of hurting themselves or others," a metal gate comes down to cover medical equipment, wires and other objects that could present a danger, Itzkowitz said as he gave Newsday a preview of the new area.
The triage rooms were redesigned during COVID-19 to be negative-pressure, which means no potentially contaminated air escapes from an infectious patient into the public space, Itzkowitz said. The air is vented outside or filtered to protect new patients and others, he said. The rooms also have glass that can be changed from clear to frosted using an electrical charge, to provide more privacy.
The existing emergency department has been undergoing $50 million in renovations since early 2020, with completion scheduled in February 2026, said Andrew Triolo, vice president for facilities, planning and development. Overall, the Fennessy Family Emergency Department will double from 16,000- to 32,000-square-feet and will be able to serve more than 75,000 patients a year, instead of the 35,000 it was designed for and the 63,000 it serves now, he said.
Among the 48 private rooms in the renovated building will be five especially for children, with specialized equipment and calming aquatic themes, Triolo said. There also will be four trauma resuscitation rooms for especially serious injuries and conditions that are large enough to hold eight beds if needed.
The upper floors of the Feil building will be completed in phases by December, Triolo said. They include 40 critical care rooms with 250 square feet instead of the current 110, offering more space for patients and medical staff, and alcoves with sofa beds for family.
A new high-tech addition to Mount Sinai South Nassau’s emergency department scheduled to open Wednesday is part of a doubling of the department’s space that includes private exam rooms rather than the open, curtained-off areas where patients were seen previously.
The space is the first completed part of the four-story, $150-million Feil Family Pavilion under construction in Oceanside.
The new space adds three triage rooms, where patients not arriving in an ambulance undergo initial assessment, and six private rooms specially designed for patients with mental health conditions.
A door separates them from the rest of the emergency department, offering more tranquility, said Dr. Jay Itzkowitz, emergency department chair.
"It’s just a way for them to start the healing process as soon as they walk in and not have all this noise and stimulation that can at times exacerbate some of their symptoms," he said.
The rooms can be used for any type of patient, including those with purely medical problems, but "if we have a behavioral health patient who might be at risk of hurting themselves or others," a metal gate comes down to cover medical equipment, wires and other objects that could present a danger, Itzkowitz said as he gave Newsday a preview of the new area.
The triage rooms were redesigned during COVID-19 to be negative-pressure, which means no potentially contaminated air escapes from an infectious patient into the public space, Itzkowitz said. The air is vented outside or filtered to protect new patients and others, he said. The rooms also have glass that can be changed from clear to frosted using an electrical charge, to provide more privacy.
The existing emergency department has been undergoing $50 million in renovations since early 2020, with completion scheduled in February 2026, said Andrew Triolo, vice president for facilities, planning and development. Overall, the Fennessy Family Emergency Department will double from 16,000- to 32,000-square-feet and will be able to serve more than 75,000 patients a year, instead of the 35,000 it was designed for and the 63,000 it serves now, he said.
Among the 48 private rooms in the renovated building will be five especially for children, with specialized equipment and calming aquatic themes, Triolo said. There also will be four trauma resuscitation rooms for especially serious injuries and conditions that are large enough to hold eight beds if needed.
The upper floors of the Feil building will be completed in phases by December, Triolo said. They include 40 critical care rooms with 250 square feet instead of the current 110, offering more space for patients and medical staff, and alcoves with sofa beds for family.
David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.
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'I have never been to New York' Jim Vennard, 61, an electrical engineer from Missouri, received a $250 ticket for passing a stopped school bus in Stony Brook, a place he said he has never visited. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.
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'I have never been to New York' Jim Vennard, 61, an electrical engineer from Missouri, received a $250 ticket for passing a stopped school bus in Stony Brook, a place he said he has never visited. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports.
