Rockville Centre, N.Y.-based Catholic Health is entering a new phase of cardiac care on Long Island with the opening of its six-story Patient Care Pavilion at Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip, N.Y. The 300,000-square-foot building brings a redesigned emergency department, hybrid operating rooms and expanded surgical capacity together in one place, a shift that recasts how quickly and cohesively teams can respond to the region’s most complex cases.
For Timothy Carter, MD, vice chair of cardiothoracic surgery at Good Samaritan University Hospital and system director of aortic surgery for Catholic Health, the pavilion represents a transformation in what is possible during the most time-sensitive cardiac and aortic emergencies.
Designed around speed — and outcomes
When asked about the most significant way the new pavilion strengthens the cardiac program, Dr. Carter pointed first to the physical environment and its ability to accelerate care.
“It’s the physical layout that will allow us to treat patients more quickly,” he said. “We have a very busy emergency department, and this design puts all of our key hardware close together and easy to reach.”
He noted everything from EMS entry, to movement through the ED, to arrival in the catheterization labs and operating rooms has been designed around time.
The pavilion includes 75 private ED treatment bays, an expanded ambulance bay and direct vertical access to 16 advanced operating rooms, two of which are hybrid surgical suites.
For the most critical patients, those design elements are not architectural luxuries — they are clinical advantages.
“Patients we have in cardiogenic shock might need mechanical assist devices,” Dr. Carter said. “They can come in very unstable, and this puts everything almost in one place, which will let us deliver care faster, and that speed is key to outcomes.”
He emphasized that for aortic emergencies, speed is everything.
“We know that for patients who arrive with an aortic dissection or rupture, the risk of death rises with every hour after diagnosis,” he said. “This setup moves them through advanced imaging and straight into the operating room much more efficiently.”
Why direct-to-OR matters
Good Samaritan’s aortic program already practices an aggressive direct-to-OR strategy for acute dissections, bypassing the ICU, inpatient floors and other care transitions to eliminate hours from the care timeline. Vertical integration amplifies that approach.
“If we have a patient transferred in from another facility, we go straight into the operating room,” Dr. Carter said. “That’s what has allowed our aortic outcomes to be so superior.”
Space built for collaboration
Beyond the improvements in physical layout, Dr. Carter said the pavilion strengthens a cultural shift underway in cardiovascular care: team-based decision-making.
“Structural heart has brought all of us together across disciplines and pushed us to think about these patients more as a team,” he said.
By placing cath labs, hybrid ORs, imaging suites and clinical workspaces close together, the pavilion creates proximity between cardiology, cardiac surgery, vascular surgery, emergency medicine, critical care and heart failure teams.
“It gives us more opportunities through meeting areas and spaces where we can come together to review patients and imaging,” he said. “It will help better organize and synergize that care.”
Hybrid ORs
The development of hybrid procedures, especially for complex aortic disease, is another way the pavilion reshapes the program’s capabilities.
Dr. Carter said hybrid technologies allow surgeons to reroute aortic branches or create landing zones to facilitate minimally invasive repairs.
“These kinds of technologies really facilitate the most optimal imaging,” he said. “They’re going to let us bring in new approaches that could eliminate even more of those open operations.”
The hybrid environment also supports high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention, particularly when patients need full left-sided support.
“We have found great success with the Impella 5.5 [heart pump],” he said. “We can install the Impella device in the operating room, and we can do the cath in the same space, which will open up more options and make recovery easier for patients.”
Strengthening the aortic program — and expanding its reach
Dr. Carter views the pavilion as a force multiplier for an aortic surgery program already known for strong outcomes. Much of the care pathway is well established, he said, but capacity, efficiency and access will grow.
“This is going to give us more bandwidth to take care of more patients,” he said. “Another operating room, more space. The hybrid technology will allow easier care.”
A key priority is outreach to sister hospitals across Long Island, ensuring clinicians know they can rely on Good Samaritan for complex aortic cases.
Leaning into AI
The pavilion also serves as a hub for emerging technology, particularly AI. Catholic Health is deploying an AI algorithm that analyzes CT scans across the system and flags signs of acute aortic problems within seconds.
“It gives an immediate alert within four seconds of detecting a dissection,” Dr. Carter said. “The technology is already in place, and we’ll continue expanding it to further expedite care for our sickest patients.”
The hospital is also purchasing new CT scanners and imaging technology as part of the pavilion launch.
Designed by providers
Dr. Carter underscored that the pavilion reflects direct input from physicians, advanced practice providers and nurses — an approach he believes differentiates Catholic Health.
“All the people who are on the ground taking care of patients have been instrumental in the design and build,” he said. “That’s something we’re particularly proud of.”
And importantly, he added, leadership listens.
“The nature of CHS is that people listen when there’s commentary that they feel will directly affect patients,” he said. “It’s probably one of the special things I’ve seen, having been to other places.”
A signal of commitment
In addition to clinical and technical advancements, Dr. Carter said the pavilion carries another kind of significance.
“I think in a lot of ways, there is a strong social, emotional thing here,” he said.
Catholic Health’s investment, he added, gives patients a sense of confidence and gives clinicians the environment they deserve.
“They’re doing this wonderful work, and now we’re going to have a wonderful new space for them to work in,” he said. “What that does for morale and for confidence is the same lift.”
He said the investment will be felt not only inside the hospital, but across the region.
“A rising tide will lift all boats,” he said. “We’re lifting to make the community better, we’re lifting for our own people, and I think care in this region of the island is going to reflect that.”
