About St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center

• Rated among the top 10 hospitals in the region by U.S. News & World Report. (2024-2025) 
• Nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in Heart & Vascular for the 17th year. (2024-2025)
• Nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in seven other adult specialties: Diabetes & Endocrinology; Gastroenterology & GI Surgery; Geriatrics; Pulmonology & Lung Surgery; Orthopedics; Neurology & Neurosurgery; and Urology. (2024-2025)
• Rated by U.S. News & World Report as High Performing in 16 common adult procedures and conditions: Aortic Valve Surgery; Heart Bypass Surgery; Heart Failure; Colon Cancer Surgery; COPD; Diabetes; Heart Attack; Hip Replacement; Hip Fracture; Kidney Failure; Knee Replacement; Leukemia, Lymphoma & Myeloma; Lung Cancer Surgery; Pneumonia; Stroke; and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement. (2024-2025)
• American Heart Association’s Stroke Gold Plus award and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll. (2024)
• Named a Top Teaching Hospital by The Leapfrog Group for achievements in patient safety and quality. (2023)
• Earned 23rd “A” Grade for Safety by the Leapfrog Group in Washington (spring 2024), the most of any hospital in New York State since Leapfrog started safety scoring. 
• The Emergency Nurses Association has recognized the hospital's Emergency Department with a Lantern Award for demonstrating exceptional and innovative performance in leadership, practice, education, advocacy and research. (2024)
• American College of Cardiology (ACC) accreditation as a chest pain center with resuscitation—one of only two hospitals on Long Island with this accreditation. (2023)
• Received The American College of Cardiology (ACC) HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence designation in both 2023 and 2024.
• Recognized with three stars for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC). (2023)
• Received a 5-Star rating for patient satisfaction from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for the fourth year in a row. (July 2023)
• Holds the Joint Commission's Disease-Specific Care Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement. (2022)
• Recognized with three stars from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS): aortic valve replacement (AVR); coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG); mitral valve repair and replacement (MVRR); MVRR & CABG; and AVR & CABG. (2022)
• Earned Magnet designation for nursing excellence four times in a row, the only hospital in Nassau County to hold that honor so consistently. (2020)
• Recognized by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for having one of the top nurse-patient communication scores in New York State. (2022)

Our History of Caring and Compassion

In 1922, two Sisters of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary were traveling door-to-door selling embroidered cloths. Their goal was to support their Order's missionary work. One day, they happened upon a benefactor they would never forget. Carlos Munson, of Manhasset, NY, was a Quaker and owner of the Munson Steamship Lines. He offered the Sisters an opportunity to further their good works and let them achieve more for the community than they could ever hope to earn in handicrafts. Munson began by presenting the Sisters with a sizable donation, in the form of a home and 15 acres of land. The house and land soon became known as "Elderfields" and was used as a summer camp for inner-city children.

Fast-forward to 1936. Fifteen summers had passed at Elderfields. The orchards and meadows of the Munson property continued their role as a refuge for countless children throughout those years. At the same time, city hospitals were struggling to care for increasing numbers of children with rheumatic fever. At the request of a hospital in Brooklyn, the sisters agreed to accept twelve children for care. Soon, Munson's very own horse and carriage stable were gone—turned into a small sanatorium for the afflicted children.

For the Sisters, each day at Elderfields brought new challenges. With very little money and few alternatives for treatment, the Sisters managed to care for the sickly children, working with Dr. Leo Taran of Brooklyn, NY. Taran treated the children and made sure they received plenty of bed rest, too. As word spread about the sanatorium, the number of children desiring care grew as well. As a result, the Sisters were forced to turn away some children because of limited resources. That is, until grants from a protestant welfare agency, the Martha Hall Foundation, came to the rescue. The grants gave the Sisters new power to help children and enabled them to expand Elderfields into what would become the St. Francis Hospital and Sanatorium for Cardiac Children.

In 1954, St. Francis Hospital opened its doors to adult patients as well. Marking the occasion in February of 1954, the Hospital's name was changed to St. Francis Hospital and Sanatorium. As a result, the St. Francis Hospital staff gained the distinction of treating many types of cardiovascular disease as well as patients of all ages.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the hospital added a full range of general medical services to complement its cardiac program. In 1979, St. Francis Hospital became the state's only specialty-designated Heart Center. In the 1980s, with the recruitment of leading cardiovascular specialists, St. Francis Hospital became New York State's leading heart center, performing the highest caseload of open-heart surgeries and cardiac catheterizations.

Today, St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center is a nationally recognized leader in cardiovascular care and surgery and has remained on the leading edge of health care technology and innovation.