Mather Hospital Expansion on the Horizon

A plan to add private patient rooms, office and conference space, infrastructure improvements and medical equipment at Mather Hospital is expected to create more than 100 new jobs, Brookhaven town officials announced this week.

The town secured $24 million in low-interest, tax-exempt financing through the help of the Brookhaven Local Development Corp. to support the expansion, officials said.

Plans call for the addition of a partial third floor to accommodate 35 private patient rooms, though the hospital's overall bed count of 248 will not change. Officials said that private patient rooms "lead to lower infection rates, fewer medical errors, fewer privacy violations and reduced patient stress."

"A single-bed patient room is no longer a luxury, but the standard for hospitals across the nation," said Joseph Wisnoski, senior vice president of finance for Mather Hospital.

Plans also call for an addition of 3,600 square feet to house office and conference spaces for a new residency program, along with new medical equipment and improvements to the hospital's heating, cooling, energy and information technology systems. The expansion, which is expected to create 111 new jobs, would be the hospital's first significant one in more than a decade.

Town supervisor Ed Romaine said the funding "will truly help save significant dollars for the hospital while at the same time improving healthcare for our community and creating new jobs."