South Shore University Hospital to break ground for $468M pavilion

A new $468 million pavilion is in the works for South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, the latest update in its ongoing transformation from a community facility to a regional health care center.

Officials expect to break ground on Wednesday for the 190,000-square-foot pavilion, which will include up to 90 private patient rooms, 10 operating rooms and three additional procedure rooms. It is expected to be completed by mid-2025.

“We see this as an investment in Suffolk County,” said Steve Bello, regional executive director of the Eastern Region for Northwell Health. “We've been making investments every year, not just to generate more capacity in the hospital, but to expand the programs to meet the needs of the broader community.”

Bello said a separate $71 million project to create a new intensive care unit for babies and single-bed hotel-type rooms for mothers by renovating existing space should be completed by the end of the year.

Prior to that, the emergency room was renovated and enlarged.

South Shore is one of several Long Island-based hospitals taking on large capital projects to expand capacity or specialty services.

Last year, Catholic Health broke ground on a $500 million expansion at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip that includes an upgraded adult and pediatric emergency department, operating rooms and private patient rooms.

Earlier this year, NYU Langone Health said it is looking to build a $3 billion-plus medical center at Nassau Community College.

“I think there are a couple of things happening,” said Wendy Darwell, president and CEO of the Suburban Hospital Alliance. “One, Long Island has an aging population;  that means they are going to need more care. And two, we’ve got aging facilities.”

Darwell said on average, New York has some of the oldest hospitals in the country.

“Long Island, by and large, developed in the 1950s, and a majority of the buildings date to that period,” she said.

Donna Moravick, executive director of South Shore, said changes at the hospital — previously known as South Side Hospital — started with the development of the cardiac surgery program in 2011. 

She said the "addition of high-quality clinicians and staff continued to build the programs needed to educate our current and future residencies."

Other specialties at South Shore include orthopedics and neurosurgery.

“Once you develop the quality, then you can reinvest into the structure,” she said. “And that’s ultimately what we did.”

Bello said the hospital has been able to provide services for people who previously had to travel into Nassau County or the city for certain treatments.

“The issue we have had at South Shore, which is a really good issue, is that the demand for services just continues to grow,” he said, noting occupancy averages at 108% to 110% over the year. The hospital accommodates the extra patient load by sometimes transferring them to other Northwell facilities or holding them in the emergency department. 

The new pavilion will help boost the hospital's bed count to 400, he said.

Construction of the pavilion is being funded by Northwell and philanthropic donations.
 

By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa 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.