Catholic Health Announces Spine Center of Excellence

Catholic Health today announced the development of a new Spine Center of Excellence at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital (Smithtown, NY).

The Center of Excellence will be part of Catholic Health’s upcoming system-wide Integrated Spine Service, a program that offers premium spine and pain care at select Centers of Excellence and integrates all Catholic Health facilities into a seamless referral network that facilitates high-quality, comprehensive spine care across Long Island.

To develop the Center of Excellence, Catholic Health has welcomed five fellowship-trained, board-certified orthopedic spine surgeons and three multi-board-certified physiatrists specializing in interventional pain management from Long Island Spine Specialists, P.C. (LISS)—a team of spine experts with experience in all spinal conditions—to Catholic Health Physician Partners, Catholic Health’s network of employed physicians.

“This is an integral step in a system-wide endeavor to extend our exceptional spine care across Long Island,” said Catholic Health President and CEO Patrick O’Shaughnessy, DO, MBA. “Soon, patients will have access to spine and pain care at Centers of Excellence across Catholic Health, which will feature our incredible team of orthopedic and neurosurgical spine specialists, now joined by the expert physicians from Long Island Spine Specialists.”

The LISS team will provide services throughout the Catholic Health system, stationed primarily at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital for spine surgery and Good Samaritan University Hospital for interventional pain management. This will create more access points and practice locations throughout the island.

“We’re honored to join Catholic Health to help spearhead its initiative of expanding its spine care services for Long Islanders,” said Thomas Dowling, JR., MD, founding partner of Long Island Spine Specialists, P.C. “Whether patients come in with minor back pain or traumatic spine injuries, our team will be there to provide exceptional spine care tailored to their needs.”

St. Catherine of Siena Hospital will convert 11 beds to create a unit exclusively for spine patients. In preparation for the conversion, an IT upgrade will be completed to implement state-of-the-art post-operative monitoring to ensure optimal recovery for all patients. An existing operating room will also be converted to allow for spine procedures and include an O-arm for intraoperative imaging, allowing for real-time imaging during procedures to increase surgical precision and improve patient outcomes.

Catholic Health also plans to develop a Center of Excellence for Orthopedics and Spine at Good Samaritan University Hospital (West Islip, NY) as part of its Integrated Spine Service.