Northwell's South Shore University Hospital named Level 1 trauma center
One of the trauma bays at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, as seen on Wednesday. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore is now recognized as a Level 1 trauma center for its ability to treat the most severely injured patients, becoming the third Suffolk County hospital to achieve the designation, hospital officials said.
The American College of Surgeons, which evaluates trauma programs, gave the Bay Shore facility the highest of its three levels for adult trauma centers, according to Northwell Health, the hospital's operator. Level 1 trauma centers are capable of conducting trauma research and can treat the most severe and complex cases, including gunshots and stab wounds, vehicle crashes, and motorcycle accidents.
In Suffolk County, South Shore University Hospital joins Stony Brook University Hospital and Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip to hold the Level 1 designation. The recognition comes as the Bay Shore facility is in the midst of major renovations to its campus.
Becoming a Level 1 trauma center is the "culmination of years and years of work," said Dr. Matthew Bank, trauma medical director at South Shore University Hospital. "Once you have access to all these very expensive and complicated resources, you can imagine that even somebody who comes in for an elective surgery, or someone that comes in for pneumonia or a heart attack, they also have access to all these resources."
The designation "really is a demonstration of the commitment that a hospital or a health system is making to continuously investing in the facility and the workforce and the services that they’re bringing to the community," said Wendy Darwell, CEO of the Suburban Hospital Alliance of New York State.
She added, "what it means is that for any given trauma, 24/7 comprehensive coverage is available in the building."
There are now seven Level 1 trauma centers on Long Island and 21 across the state, according to the American College of Surgeons.
The hospital's recognition follows Good Samaritan University Hospital achieving the Level 1 status last year, becoming the first such center on Long Island's South Shore. The state health department is reviewing the certification for South Shore University Hospital, a Northwell spokeswoman said.
The designation comes amid a host of improvements and expansions underway at the 313-bed Bay Shore facility that until 2021 had been known as Southside Hospital.
Northwell has invested "well over a billion dollars" in the campus over the past 15 years, said Stephen Bello, regional executive director of Northwell’s Eastern Region.
Other recent improvements include the renovation and expansion of its emergency room, a $1.4 million, 4,600-square-foot neurosciences care center with eight exam rooms across from the hospital, and a new $71 million two-story Women and Children's Center. That center includes a labor and delivery ward with 29 private suites.
"South Shore is our biggest focus in the entire region," Bello said. "It’s bringing tertiary or high level care that used to just exist at Stony Brook now to the South Shore of Long Island."
In September, the hospital broke ground on a new $468 million pavilion. The 190,000-square-foot project will include up to 90 private patient rooms, 10 operating rooms and three new procedure rooms. The pavilion will also include green and public spaces and a sky bridge. The pavilion is expected to open in mid-2026, and already, workers are installing the structure's steel skeleton, said Vinod Nair, associate executive director for operations at the hospital.
The hospital recently acquired the new da Vinci 5 surgical system for robot-assisted surgeries.
The robot, which can be used for multiple surgical procedures, joins seven other surgical robots at the hospital, Northwell officials said.
The hospital recently purchased 16 cameras for the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit to provide parents with a live feed of their infants through a computer or phone app. The $142,000 project was funded by private donations.
"We had heard of other places using similar technology and thought this was a great way to connect families with neonates that are born and put in a special environment where it's limited in how they can have visitors," said the hospital's executive director Irene Macyk.
South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore is now recognized as a Level 1 trauma center for its ability to treat the most severely injured patients, becoming the third Suffolk County hospital to achieve the designation, hospital officials said.
The American College of Surgeons, which evaluates trauma programs, gave the Bay Shore facility the highest of its three levels for adult trauma centers, according to Northwell Health, the hospital's operator. Level 1 trauma centers are capable of conducting trauma research and can treat the most severe and complex cases, including gunshots and stab wounds, vehicle crashes, and motorcycle accidents.
In Suffolk County, South Shore University Hospital joins Stony Brook University Hospital and Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip to hold the Level 1 designation. The recognition comes as the Bay Shore facility is in the midst of major renovations to its campus.
Becoming a Level 1 trauma center is the "culmination of years and years of work," said Dr. Matthew Bank, trauma medical director at South Shore University Hospital. "Once you have access to all these very expensive and complicated resources, you can imagine that even somebody who comes in for an elective surgery, or someone that comes in for pneumonia or a heart attack, they also have access to all these resources."
WHAT TO KNOW
- South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore is now recognized as a Level 1 Trauma Center.
The recognition comes as the Bay Shore facility is in the midst of major renovations to its campus. It's building a new, $468 million pavilion and has adopted technology for robot-assisted surgeries.
It becomes the third Level 1 Trauma Center in Suffolk County, joining Stony Brook University Hospital and Good Samaritan University Hospital, in achieving the designation.
The designation "really is a demonstration of the commitment that a hospital or a health system is making to continuously investing in the facility and the workforce and the services that they’re bringing to the community," said Wendy Darwell, CEO of the Suburban Hospital Alliance of New York State.
She added, "what it means is that for any given trauma, 24/7 comprehensive coverage is available in the building."
There are now seven Level 1 trauma centers on Long Island and 21 across the state, according to the American College of Surgeons.
Focus on South Shore
The hospital's recognition follows Good Samaritan University Hospital achieving the Level 1 status last year, becoming the first such center on Long Island's South Shore. The state health department is reviewing the certification for South Shore University Hospital, a Northwell spokeswoman said.
The designation comes amid a host of improvements and expansions underway at the 313-bed Bay Shore facility that until 2021 had been known as Southside Hospital.
Northwell has invested "well over a billion dollars" in the campus over the past 15 years, said Stephen Bello, regional executive director of Northwell’s Eastern Region.
Other recent improvements include the renovation and expansion of its emergency room, a $1.4 million, 4,600-square-foot neurosciences care center with eight exam rooms across from the hospital, and a new $71 million two-story Women and Children's Center. That center includes a labor and delivery ward with 29 private suites.
"South Shore is our biggest focus in the entire region," Bello said. "It’s bringing tertiary or high level care that used to just exist at Stony Brook now to the South Shore of Long Island."
In September, the hospital broke ground on a new $468 million pavilion. The 190,000-square-foot project will include up to 90 private patient rooms, 10 operating rooms and three new procedure rooms. The pavilion will also include green and public spaces and a sky bridge. The pavilion is expected to open in mid-2026, and already, workers are installing the structure's steel skeleton, said Vinod Nair, associate executive director for operations at the hospital.
New tech
The hospital recently acquired the new da Vinci 5 surgical system for robot-assisted surgeries.
The robot, which can be used for multiple surgical procedures, joins seven other surgical robots at the hospital, Northwell officials said.
The hospital recently purchased 16 cameras for the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit to provide parents with a live feed of their infants through a computer or phone app. The $142,000 project was funded by private donations.
"We had heard of other places using similar technology and thought this was a great way to connect families with neonates that are born and put in a special environment where it's limited in how they can have visitors," said the hospital's executive director Irene Macyk.
Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.
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