$500K Donation Supports St. Catherine of Siena Hospital’s Emergency Department Expansion

A $500,000 philanthropic donation from the Banyan Tree Roots Foundation will help support Catholic Health’s St. Catherine of Siena Hospital’s (Smithtown, NY) expansion of its fast-paced Emergency Department (ED). The gift is being offered as a challenge grant to encourage other families in the community to participate in supporting the ED project with matching gifts.
 
The donation will allow the hospital to immediately begin construction of an improved ED waiting room, registration and triage suite. In addition, the donation will help fund the purchase of new stretchers, patient monitoring equipment and advanced cardiac technology.
 
“This very generous donation from the Banyan Tree Roots Foundation will help us take the necessary steps as we look to expand our Emergency Department and improve the overall patient experience for the thousands of community members who turn to us when they need urgent medical care,” said St. Catherine of Siena Hospital President James O’Connor. “During the COVID-19 pandemic and still to this day, St. Catherine’s Emergency Department visits continues to grow exponentially. The ED expansion is a necessary step to meet the needs of those we serve in Smithtown and surrounding neighborhoods.”
 
St. Catherine’s ED treats approximately 28,000 patients every year. The hospital recently opened the St. Francis Heart Center at St. Catherine’s, ensuring residents of Suffolk County’s north shore have access to lifesaving treatment for patients with acute chest pain with the same, stellar St. Francis cardiovascular care, closer to home. Since its opening in December, more than 200 patients with sudden chest pain arrived at St. Catherine’s ED, of which a dozen required cardiac catheterization.