Mather Hospital, Stony Brook University Hospital among Healthgrades specialty awards list

Mather Hospital, Stony Brook University Hospital and NYU Langone Hospital-Suffolk made the list of 16 Long Island hospitals that received recognition for specialty care treatments and outcomes, according to new annual rankings by Healthgrades.

Northwell Health's Mather Hospital was ranked among America's top 100 hospitals for both coronary intervention and pulmonary care, according to Healthgrades, an online physician search and healthcare ranking organization.

Mather, which also received recognition for cardiology and gastrointestinal care, was among seven Northwell hospitals on Long Island to receive high marks for specialty care, according to the awards.

"These Healthgrades distinctions recognize clinical expertise, rigorous standards and ongoing commitment to safe, effective care that guide our teams," Dr. Peter Silver, senior vice president and chief quality officer for Northwell, said in a statement. "We remain focused on continually evaluating and improving the care we provide."

The rankings, published last week, considered mortality and complication rates for patients using Medicare data for procedures at about 4,500 hospitals across the country, according to Healthgrades. The rankings for the 2027 Specialty Excellence Awards looked at 19 specialty areas, including pulmonary, cardiac and stroke care, according to the hospital ranking group.

While healthcare rankings like Healthgrades look at a wide variety of factors concerning patient outcomes and experience, local experts said it's important that Long Islanders understand that they should be a factor when considering which hospital to use.

"There has been a proliferation of entities that do different kinds of ratings for healthcare, and that cottage business that has sprung up does create confusion because they are all using different methodologies and data sources," said Wendy Darwell, president and CEO of the Suburban Hospital Alliance, a regional trade group representing hospitals on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley.

Darwell said that because each rankings organization may use different criteria, a patient's insurance coverage, their geography and, most importantly, the advice of their primary care physician should be the main factors they use to decide where to get care.

For planned procedures or care, a trusted doctor "who will know your exact needs as a patient ... and will take into consideration other health conditions or complications that you have, I believe, is the most reliable place to start," Darwell said.

Stony Brook University Hospital was ranked among the top 100 hospitals in the country for joint replacement, pulmonary care and stroke care, a designation the hospital has received the past three years, according to Healthgrades. The evaluation for Stony Brook includes data from Stony Brook Southampton Hospital and Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital because both consolidate their Medicare reporting data.

"These recognitions reflect Stony Brook Medicine's continued focus on clinical excellence, innovation and delivering exceptional care to the communities we serve," Dr. William A. Wertheim, executive vice president at Stony Brook Medicine, said in a statement.

"These achievements highlight the strength of our care teams whose collaborative efforts continue to advance medicine and improve patient outcomes," Wertheim said.

NYU Langone Hospital-Suffolk in Patchogue, formerly Long Island Community Hospital, was ranked among America's 100 best hospitals for coronary intervention, and also received recognition for its cardiology, emergency hospitalization and stroke care, rankings showed.

The Manhattan-based health system's Mineola hospital, NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island, formerly Winthrop Hospital, also consolidates its Medicare reporting data with its New York City hospitals. Langone hospitals overall received top 50 designations for cardiac surgery and outpatient joint replacement, according to Healthgrades.

"We are proud that our health system is continually recognized for quality, safety and outcomes across a growing number of specialties," Dr. Joseph J. Greco, executive vice president and chief of hospital operations at NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island, said in a statement.

Additional hospitals on Long Island that received awards from Healthgrades include Catholic Health's Good Samaritan University Hospital, which was ranked a top 50 hospital for cardiac surgery. The health system had a total of five hospitals receive honors for 2027.

"We’re proud to be at the forefront of quality and safety and are dedicated to continuous improvement to provide the best possible patient experience at every encounter," Dr. Jason Golbin, executive vice president and chief medical officer at Catholic Health, said in a statement.

Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital ranked top 100 for both coronary intervention and prostate surgery.