Stony Brook University Hospital continues to expand its Long Island footprint with plans to build a new ambulatory surgery center in Commack.
The 19,500-square-foot facility will place four new operating rooms and about $8 million worth of new equipment a half-hour drive from the main hospital, according to a filing with the state Department of Health. In total, the new center will cost the SUNY-affiliated health system close to $16 million, the filing states.
The plan is part of a steady stream of construction projects at Stony Brook University Hospital, including a $67 million expansion of the main hospital’s pediatric and psychiatric emergency departments, which is currently in the works. The hospital brought in $14 billion in revenue, more than a quarter of which – $4.3 million – came from state appropriations in 2023, according to its latest financial statement. It ended that year with a $1.5 million margin.
The new surgery center will add to the site in Commack, a 120,000-square-foot facility that houses Stony Brook Medicine’s advanced specialty care practice. The practice has expanded its surgical services since it opened in 2017, now offering bariatric, colorectal, gastrointestinal, head and neck, plastic and vascular surgeries. The new addition will add a recovery area for 16 patients with two private rooms and 14 bays. The four new operating rooms will be added over two phases.
To pay for it, the building’s landlord will cover the cost of construction with the hospital repaying it over a 20-year capital lease, the filing states. The equipment will be covered by the State University Construction Fund, a public benefit corporation established to finance SUNY capital needs.
The blueprint adds to tens of millions of dollars of development currently underway or in the planning process at Stony Brook Medicine sites. In August, the health system filed paperwork to drastically expand its pediatric emergency department to accommodate an increased demand that has led to overcrowding and higher patient wait times.
Between 2019 and 2023, pediatric emergency room visits increased by roughly 20%, from about 22,000 to 26,500 visits each year, according to the state filing. Under the August proposal, the hospital will quintuple its space for pediatric emergencies to more than 23,000 square feet, including 17 exam rooms, two trauma rooms and additional clinical, storage and staff space. Of the $67 million price tag, $16 million will be covered by fundraising and philanthropic donations, the filing states.
