Northwell's Mather Hospital kicks off construction for new ER

Northwell Health said Thursday it has started construction on the new $52 million emergency department at Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson.

The 26,000-square-foot facility is set to open in 2025. The facility will double the size of Mather’s current emergency department, which sees almost 40,000 patients a year, and it has been designed to improve privacy, efficiency and safety, New Hyde Park-based Northwell said.

The village planning board last year approved the site plan for the emergency department and other elements of Mather’s $78.7 million overhaul, including a 163-space expansion of its parking lot and upgrades to its surgical suites, lobby and cafeteria. The approval came despite objections by some village residents who opposed cutting down dozens of trees, which they said would worsen flooding.

The project underwent a “thorough” review by village officials as part of the state and local environmental review process, and the health care system has paid $25,000 to the village to plant new trees, Northwell spokesman Stuart Vincent said Thursday. Construction began on Monday.

Located on the north side of the hospital, the facility will include private patient rooms, including some with doors and others with curtains; imaging services including X-ray, ultrasound and CT technology; isolation rooms for infectious disease control; and a dedicated treatment area for people experiencing a mental health crisis.

Mather is one of many hospitals on Long Island renovating facilities to provide more private rooms, even in emergency departments. Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside also is revamping its emergency department to include private rooms. 

Mather's emergency department will use a two-track system that Northwell says has been shown to speed hospital admissions for patients with serious conditions while also providing efficient treatment and discharge of patients who do not need to be hospitalized.

Dr. Adam Wos, director of emergency medicine at Mather, said the new facility “will provide a healing environment that meets the needs of our community when they are experiencing an emergency.”

The facility, to be called the Frey Family Emergency Department, was named for a Port Jefferson family that has given “tremendous support” to the hospital, Northwell said in a news release.
 

By Maura McDermott

maura.mcdermott@newsday.commauramcdermott

Maura McDermott is a reporter on the investigations desk. Since starting at Newsday in 2012, she has also covered real estate and the business of health care.