Construction on St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center began in 1962 on a 74-acre plot of land on the outskirts of Smithtown, Long Island, New York. It was opened by the Church Charity Foundation of Long Island, under the original name St. John's Smithtown Hospital. At the time of its opening, the not-for-profit hospital's staff included 160 employees, including both full- and part-time. By its fifth year of operation, its staff had grown to 357 full-time employees plus 151 part-time, and had provided services to nearly 100,000 patients. The first hospital director was John P. Rugh. A local Smithtown newspaper ran an article on the fifth anniversary of St. Catherine of Siena ’s opening celebrating the hospital’s delivery of Suffolk County’s millionth resident. Recent expansions to the hospital have included the opening of St. Catherine & St. Charles Health & Wellness Center in 2017, a Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Wound Healing in 2015, and a Siena Women's Health Pavilion in 2009. In its first 50 years, other expansions/additions to the hospital have included:
St. John’s Smithtown Hospital was officially purchased by the Catholic Health Services of Long Island on February 29, 2000, and renamed St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center after the 14th-century Catholic saint, theologian, and nurse Catherine Benincasa. The campus of St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center now stands on 110 acres, and includes a separate 60,000 square-foot medical office building. In all, the hospital now comprises 296 beds and 240 nursing home beds. St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2016.
Awards
St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center has been recognized with numerous awards over its operational history. Most recently, in June 2017, The Healthcare Association of New York State presented its 2017 Pinnacle Award for Quality and Patient Safety to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center for their outstanding initiatives that enhanced patient care. On December 26th, 2016, Becker’s Hospital Review listed the hospital under ’.’ In 2016, it earned a . In 2014, it was recognized as a by the Joint Commission. This award is notable in that St. Catherine's was one of only 1,043 hospitals to earn this distinction out of the 3,300 eligible candidates. The Joint Commission also issued St. Catherine's its bi-annual Gold Seals of Approval in recognition of its disease-specific care for Stroke in the years 2012, 2014, and 2016. The hospital was also one of only 36 hospitals nationwide to receive the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Outstanding Leadership Award for Achievements in Eliminating Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in 2011.
