Good Samaritan University Hospital Named Level 1 Trauma Center

WEST ISLIP, NY — A Long Island hospital was just named a Level 1 Trauma Center.

Catholic Health’s Good Samaritan University Hospital in West announced it received the esteemed verification by the Verification Review Committee, an ad hoc committee of the Committee on Trauma (COT) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

A Level I verification is the highest designation, for trauma centers, indicating that the most advanced care is available.

Guidelines for verification include a 24/7 hour coverage by general surgeons and availability of care in key specialties; education of the community through a number of trauma-prevention activities; programs for substance abuse and patient interventions; meets a minimum requirement for annual volume of severely injured patients, and more.

“As a Level I Trauma Center, and a designated tertiary care facility, Good Samaritan is central to the trauma system in Suffolk and eastern Nassau Counties,” said Good Samaritan University Hospital President Ruth E. Hennessey. “Good Samaritan is capable of providing total care for every aspect of injury, including those that may be life-threatening and disabling. This verification demonstrates Catholic Health’s commitment to providing care that is state of the art, compassionate, and patient centered.”

To obtain this verification, Good Samaritan underwent a comprehensive review, including assessment of the skill of Good Samaritan’s Trauma surgeons and clinical team, and the hospital’s around-the-clock trauma service, a release said.

Verified trauma centers must meet the essential criteria that ensure trauma care capability and institutional performance, as outlined by the ACS-COT. With three levels of verification, specific criteria must be met by a facility seeking that level of verification.

“Good Samaritan’s Level I Trauma Center verification highlights our dedication to the community and to delivering the best possible care to trauma patients” said Catholic Health Chief of Emergency Medicine and Chairman of Emergency Medicine at Good Samaritan, Christopher Raio MD, MBA. “Good Samaritan will now have an even stronger collaboration with its sister Catholic Health hospitals, as well as other facilities throughout Long Island, in the treatment of patients suffering from traumatic injury.”

The verification makes Good Samaritan the only Level I Trauma Center for adults on the south shore of Long Island.

Only four other hospitals on Long Island — Stony Brook University Hospital, NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island, and North Shore University Hospital — also have this verification.

Of note, Good Samaritan has a commitment to graduate medical education in relation to its trauma program, providing education on new training and techniques to residents and other team members.

Since 2017, Good Samaritan served as the only Level II Verified Trauma Center on the south shore for both adults and pediatrics, a release said. Last spring, Good Samaritan announced the construction of its new $500 million dollar, 300,000-square-foot Patient Care Pavilion, which will feature a 75-bay emergency department, 16 high-tech replacement operating rooms and private patient rooms as well as larger and enhanced clinical areas.

To learn more about trauma and emergency services available at Good Samaritan University Hospital, visit its website here.