NYU Langone Medical Center and Winthrop-University Hospital announced approval by their respective Boards of an affiliation agreement that will bring the two organizations together to expand, enhance, and clinically integrate their healthcare networks on Long Island.

NYU Langone, whose hospitals are on the East side of Manhattan and in Brooklyn, has more than 150 ambulatory sites throughout the region, with more than 40 practices in Queens and Long Island. Winthrop’s main campus is located in Mineola, NY, in central Nassau County, and is virtually adjacent to a major transportation hub that includes the Long Island Rail Road and an intermodal bus terminal. In addition to its main campus, which is also home to an onsite dialysis center, CyberKnife^® Center, and the Cancer Center for Kids, Winthrop has multiple ambulatory sites throughout the surrounding areas, including a newly expanded ambulatory surgery center in Garden City, Specialty Center East in Deer Park, and a CyberKnife^® Center in Manhattan. Further, the hospital employs an extensive network of physicians and physician practices that encompasses 66 faculty and community-based practices in over 140 locations, extending from Shelter Island and Riverhead to Upper Manhattan.

The affiliation will extend NYU Langone’s presence on Long Island, while increasing support for Winthrop’s established network of inpatient and outpatient services. At the same time, it bolsters Winthrop’s access to NYU Langone’s vast offering of medical and surgical specialties. Regulatory approval for the new affiliation will be sought with the aim that approvals will be completed in spring 2017.

“We have been working closely with Winthrop over the last several months to assess whether a partnership between our institutions would benefit each of our organizations, as well as the patients and families who turn to us for help. We quickly realized that an affiliation would allow our institutions to enhance the range and quality of services offered to the residents of Long Island, as well as grow key ambulatory services and the physician network across the region, with Winthrop as the primary inpatient hospital,” says Robert I. Grossman, MD, the Saul J. Farber Dean and CEO of NYU Langone. “Today’s agreement publicly confirms our confidence that an affiliation will allow both of our institutions to collaborate and share best practices to better meet the healthcare needs of the communities we serve.”

Dr. Grossman stressed that the quality of programs and services provided at Winthrop and its affiliated practices was a key determining factor for NYU Langone, adding, “It was important for us to work with an organization that shares our level of commitment to patient care. From the continuity and quality-of-care perspective alone, we have an excellent foundation for establishing a meaningful relationship.”

According to John Collins, Winthrop’s President and CEO, “We have been successful in completing this agreement with NYU Langone because both parties share a mutual respect and a mutual commitment to delivering the highest quality healthcare to the residents of the New York region. I think NYU Langone recognizes that Winthrop stands as a truly unique healthcare institution on Long Island—a major academic and research hospital that delivers high quality care in an extremely personal and compassionate environment. And we recognize in NYU Langone a partner who shares our commitment to excellence, who places the utmost value on the contributions of our clinical staff, and who will be able to help us continue to expand our services to meet the needs of our community as well as provide access to a whole new source of world-class medical care.”

Following are some of the key components of the affiliation agreement:

• Provide an initial capital investment and develop a long term master plan which will serve as a framework for future changes and expansion of the campus for both inpatient and ambulatory activities based upon projected needs.
• Implementation and integration of the Epic electronic medical records system will be focused on Winthrop’s ambulatory practices to develop a system-wide, state-of-the art IT infrastructure and connectivity to support clinical integration and population health management initiatives and analytics. Winthrop recently converted to the Cerner Soarian Electronic Medical Record system for all inpatient care, which will stay in place for the foreseeable future.

Structurally, Winthrop’s operations will remain under the direction of the current Board of Directors and Administration. John Collins will continue as Winthrop’s President and CEO, and will report directly to Dr. Grossman and to the Winthrop Board of Directors. Initially, one member of Winthrop’s Board of Directors will also take a seat on the NYU Langone Board, and several members of NYU Langone’s Board will become members of Winthrop’s Board. Additionally, Winthrop’s medical teaching faculty will retain their faculty appointments within Stony Brook University’s School of Medicine, and undergraduate medical education, in which 80 third- and fourth-year Stony Brook medical students are trained on the Winthrop campus, will also remain in effect. Following the initial five years of the affiliation, Winthrop will complete a full asset merger with NYU Langone’s hospitals.

“I can reiterate to our staff, our outstanding medical faculty, and our community that our partnership with NYU Langone will enable us to deliver even better medical care to our patients, as well as to more effectively and efficiently meet the challenges of the ever-changing healthcare environment now and in the future,” says Collins.

According to Charles M. Strain, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Winthrop, “Since the founding of Winthrop over 100 years ago, it has been the responsibility of its Board of Directors to ensure that the hospital delivers the highest quality healthcare to the population it serves. Each member of our Board takes that responsibility very seriously. We are confident that this affiliation with NYU Langone will allow us to deliver even higher quality care for the next 100 years and beyond.”

About Winthrop-University Hospital

Founded in 1896 by a group of local physicians and concerned citizens, Long Island’s first voluntary hospital is a 591-bed university-affiliated medical center and an American College of Surgeons Adult Level 1 Trauma Center, which offers a full complement of inpatient and outpatient programs and services for the newborn through the elderly in a dynamic, progressive environment. With one of the top cardiac programs in the region, Winthrop holds its rightful place among the top five transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) centers in the country. A leader and innovator in the many specialty areas, Winthrop is home to the first Diabetes Education Program in New York State and was the first major teaching hospital in New York State to earn The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval^™ for its advanced inpatient diabetes care.

In the area of cancer care, Winthrop was the first CyberKnife Center in the region, and its Breast Health Center was the first in Nassau County to earn certification by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers.

Consistently recognized for quality patient care, Winthrop’s awards, recognitions and accreditations are many including recent national recognition for excellence in nursing from the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program^®—the highest recognition that a hospital can earn in the area of nursing excellence. Winthrop has also been awarded Baby Friendly^® Designation by Baby-Friendly, USA, and was the first hospital on Long Island to achieve this distinct honor.

Ever changing and growing with the diverse community it serves, Winthrop-University Hospital is, in many ways, a unique institution, simultaneously large and small, regional as well as local. It successfully blends the progressive philosophy, sophistication, and advances of a teaching and research institution with a very personal approach to patient care—an approach that has become the cornerstone of the organization.

Media Inquiries

Lisa Greiner
Phone: 212-404-3532
lisa.greiner@nyumc.org