Catholic Health an Important Economic Driver on Long Island

When you think of health care, you generally focus on the services you need to remain healthy. What you may not realize is that health care can keep economies healthy, too. For example, Catholic Health generated billions of dollars in economic activity for Long Island while employing tens of thousands of local residents, according to a new report from the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS).

Statistics for 2020 from HANYS show the health system contributed $4.654 billion to the economies of Nassau and Suffolk counties. A total employee account of 16,000 generated a payroll expenditure of $1.383 billion. Tax dollars generated were $706 million.

In 2020, Catholic Health provided outpatient care to 784,000 patients, treated 183,000 in its emergency departments at its six hospitals, admitted 78,000 patients and delivered 5,400 babies.

Adhering to its charitable mission, Catholic Health delivered $258 million in care to people in need. This included subsidizing care and services to low-income residents, the elderly and those living in under-served communities along with continual investment in numerous health initiatives.

“Despite the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, Catholic Health stayed laser-focused on our mission of providing quality, compassionate care to the communities we serve,” said Catholic Health President & CEO Patrick M. O’Shaughnessy, DO, MBA. “The continued expansion of our services will provide additional needed medical care and contribute further to the region’s economic engine.”

In recent years, Catholic Health has continued to expand its services to reach communities in need. Most notable has been the growth of the St. Francis Heart Center. The health system’s team of cardiology experts and world-class care are now offered at St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center® in Roslyn, Mercy Hospital in Rockville Centre, Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip and St. Catherine of Siena Hospital in Smithtown and soon to be added at St. Joseph Hospital in Bethpage.

Growth has also been seen in Catholic Health’s Ambulatory Care offices, with new locations in West Babylon, Lake Success and Patchogue and more opening this year. These multidisciplinary offices offer patients primary care services along with cardiology, endocrinology and nephrology and gastroenterology under one roof.

As a not-for-profit, mission-based organization, Catholic Health is also continuing the work of those who founded hospitals. The system offers blood drives, free wellness seminars, support groups and other community health-related events and programs year-round.

All Catholic Health hospitals belong to the Long Island Health Collaborative, a bi-county initiative established to promote good health in the region. To further help the medically underserved in Nassau and Suffolk counties, Catholic Health established its Healthy Sundays outreach network and Bishop McHugh Health Centers to deliver health screenings, education, vaccinations and other services to those without access to primary care. Catholic Health also offers two community health and outreach screening buses in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Future plans include the construction of Catholic Health’s new Ambulatory and Family Care at Mercy Hospital which will provide high-level compassionate care to the surrounding community. Both the Suffolk County community health bus and the Family Care Center were made possible through grants from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.

To find a Catholic Health physician near you, please call (866) MY-LI-DOC (866-695-4362).

View HANYS report