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In the spirit of celebrating all the dads out there this Father’s Day, here’s a story about Robert Marino and how he ended up working with his two sons at Catholic Health’s Good Samaritan Hospital.
With over 25 years of nursing experience, Robert Sr. of Smithtown has held several positions at various hospitals across the island. Commuting to Nassau County became exhausting, so his wife Kim, who is also a registered nurse, submitted an application for Robert to Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip.
In 2016, he joined the Good Samaritan team as a nurse manager in the operating room.
“I had never stepped foot into the hospital until my interview,” he said. “I had a great meeting
and knew some of the people I met with. I immediately felt comfortable and really wanted the
job.”
Now, working at Good Samaritan has become a family affair.
His older son, Robert Jr. followed suit and became a performance improvement analyst for the hospital in 2019. He graduated with a mathematics degree from SUNY Geneseo and his father actually suggested he steer his job search towards healthcare.
“Even though my parents are registered nurses, I didn’t think about the medical profession as a
career path,” Robert Jr. says. “But working with data is something that was of interest to me and
everything has worked out well.”
Their middle son, Chris, also accepted a job in the hospital’s housekeeping department the year before while attending Suffolk County Community College.
Chris was on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis, cleaning rooms of patients who fought and recovered from the virus.
“One week I worked 80 hours,” he said. “Some of my co-workers are older and have some
health conditions, and I was worried about them. Since I’m younger and in good health, it was
important for me to step up and do more to help our patients.”
The Marinos don’t see each other in the halls of the hospital as much as one would think, but they do try to connect during the workday for lunch when they can.
Robert Jr. noted that having the same name and looking similar to his father has led to some
funny moments.
“Every now and then we get each other’s emails,” he said. “Other times people will pass me in
the hall and do a double-take thinking they know me, but then realize I’m not my father.”
This past year was an incredibly challenging one for healthcare workers and Robert Sr. said the one thing he is grateful for this Father’s Day is his family’s good health.
“My dad passed away a few years ago and I always feel like he’s our guardian angel looking
down and protecting us,” Robert Sr. said.
Top: Robert and Kim Marino and their sons Chris, Nicholas and Robert.
