Catholic Health is launching its Spine Center of Excellence, providing spine and pain care at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital in Smithtown.
The plan involves converting 11 beds to create a unit exclusively for spine patients and upgrades to its IT system as well as an operating room conversion.
The Catholic Health center will be part of an upcoming Integrated Spine Service program, at other centers within the health system, with a referral network offering comprehensive spine care at its facilities across Long Island.
Developing the center are five fellowship-trained, board-certified orthopedic spine surgeons and three multi-board-certified physiatrists specializing in interventional pain management from Long Island Spine Specialists (LISS). The team is now part of 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,” Catholic Health President and CEO Dr. Patrick O’Shaughnessy, said in a news release about the new program.
“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,” he added.
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 way, the health system aims to 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,” Dr. Thomas Dowling, Jr., founding partner of Long Island Spine Specialists, said in the news release. “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.”
The conversion also includes an IT upgrade to implement post-operative monitoring that is designed to ensure optimal recovery for 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 as part of its Integrated Spine Service.