North Shore-LIJ Medical Center Celebrates New Inpatient Tower

Over 400 people, including trustees, donors, administrative and clinical leaders and staff of the gathered together on Thursday morning to celebrate the completion of the largest project in the 57-year history of LIJ Medical Center.

The new inpatient 10-story tower, set to open next month, features the Zuckerberg Pavilion and Katz Women’s Hospital, a 300,000 square-foot facility that promises 162 single-bed rooms and hotel-like accommodations.

Saul Katz, trustee of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, worked tirelessly with his wife, Iris, on behalf of women’s health and their concerns are what drove them to help create the Katz Women’s Hospital.

“I met Roy Zuckerberg, and he agreed that the combination would benefit both institutions and we’d be better prepared to serve the community, to fulfill our joint mission” Katz said. “Here we are 15-years later and this campus is incredible. It is my great joy and honor to see the Zuckerberg name and the Katz name on the same building.”

The Zuckerberg Pavilion serves as the entryway for all LIJ services and adds 57,000 square feet, including a dedicated entrance, a two-story lobby and 60 private patient rooms located on two floors for both men and women. Orthopedic, urological and cardiovascular services are among the clinical programs included in the Zuckerberg Pavilion.

The Katz Women’s Hospital also has its own dedicated entrance, a two-story lobby and 88 private patient rooms, which will serve as the new home for women seeking maternity care and gynecological surgery. Services are provided on four floors and feature a neonatal stabilization unit, a women’s surgical unit and private maternity rooms.

“These new facilities will deliver about 13,000 babies a year to 13,000 well cared for mothers,” Katz said. “I’m told that the length of stay at [the] Manhasset [campus] has increased substantially because the mothers don’t want to leave.” 

The ribbon cutting ceremony took place at the Manhasset campus earlier this year.

“My suggestion was to bring the mother-in-laws in and they’ll leave quicker,” Katz joked.  

The $300 million project also features a meditation center, women’s garden, reflecting pool, wellness boutique, an education room and patient and family resource center.

“What you are looking at is not just a new, magnificent building, what you’re actually looking at is a new philosophy of care,” said North Shore-LIJ President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Dowling. “It represents a new standard because once you build something like this; you never again build anything less. It sets a new level and we only go up from here, not the other way.”