WEST ISLIP, NY — A West Islip hospital is dawning a new name.
Good Samaritan Hospital, a hospital that has served the South Shore community for more than 60 years, was officially renamed "Good Samaritan University Hospital", to better reflect its medical education programs.
"Through medical residency programs, it assists students taking the next step in their medical careers, to become skilled leaders in medicine and surgery," said a news release.
Representatives from Good Samaritan Hospital, Catholic Health, elected officials, legacy stakeholders and former patients attending an official renaming ceremony on Wednesday, to celebrate this occasion.
“This new name captures our reputation for providing outstanding treatment and care to the communities we serve and reflects how we excel as a teaching hospital," said hospital president Ruth E. Hennessey. "We felt it was time to acknowledge the history of our residency and fellowship programs and our commitment to physician education as we shape the future of health care.”
Since 1994, more than 500 physicians have been educated through Good Samaritan’s Graduate Medical Education Program, also known as "Legacy Forward."
Good Samaritan University Hospital offers residency training programs in emergency medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, podiatric surgery and OB/GYN, as well as a fellowship-training programs in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery and pediatric emergency medicine.
It also is the sponsoring institution for the physical medicine and rehabilitation residency training program at another Catholic Health hospital, Mercy Hospital. The hospital is also a clinical campus for the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, a news release said.
Hennessey also said the name represented the hospital's future Patient Care Pavilion, which will feature a state-of-the-art, 75-bay emergency department, 16 high-tech replacement operating rooms, and three floors of private patient rooms.
The Pavilion is expected to finish construction by 2025.
“Catholic Health is synonymous with Long Island,” said Catholic Health president & CEO Dr. Patrick O’Shaughnessy. “This is where we started; this is where all our facilities are located. It is where the patients we serve reside. In addition, it is where we continue to educate the physicians of tomorrow and change the face of medicine."
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