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Good Samaritan Hospital on Wednesday celebrated the grand opening of its new pediatric emergency ward with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The $14-million project includes a 6,500 square-foot enhancement to the current emergency department at the West Islip hospital.
The unit features 12 treatment bays, two of which are in isolation rooms, and a large waiting room for pediatric patients and their families.
Good Samaritan holds the only pediatric emergency department and ACS-certified Level II pediatric trauma center on the south shore of Long Island.
This addition allows the hospital to serve around 22,000 pediatric patients that visit the emergency department every year.
Gina McGoldrick, mother of Cadence McGoldrick — who suffers from a rare genetic condition called FoxG1 Syndrome — recalled times where she had to run through the adult section of the emergency department at Good Samaritan, with Cadence in her arms, in order to reach the pediatric side of the hospital.
She said she is excited about this new addition to the hospital and feels safe knowing in the event of an emergency, she can get the care that her daughter needs right away.
“There have been plenty of times I’ve run through the ER with her in my arms, non-responsive, and had to run through the adult area first and then run right to pediatrics,” McGoldrick said. “Knowing, God forbid, we need to go somewhere, this is such a safe place for us.”
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Ruth Hennessy, president of Good Samaritan Hospital, said children and parents will benefit from the separate patient experience, away from the adult behavioral health population.
The addition of the new pediatric ward also allows Good Sam to expand its adult emergency room department, Hennessy said.
Alan Guerci, president of Catholic Health Services, thanked everyone involved in creating this new facility.
“This is a giant step towards of our goal, and our goal is to make Good Samaritan Hospital the best hospital in Suffolk County,” Guerci said.
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Christopher Raio, chief of emergency medicine at Good Sam, touched on the fact that Good Samitarian Hospital treats approximately over 20,000 pediatric patients yearly in the emergency room.
“We’ve always had the highly motivated trains, dedicated staff, physicians, nurses, ancillary staff, and now we feel like we have the space that actually matches that level of expertise,” Raio said.
He said he feels the patients’ and their families deserve this new ward.
“This really couldn’t be more timely,” he said. “This project actually gave us something to look forward to, a little boost, and we are all very, very excited to start treating patients in this brand new space.”
Below are more photos of the new pediatric emergency ward celebration.
