Mount Sinai South Nassau completes $10M expansion, now provides 24/7 advanced stroke care

Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside has completed a $10 million expansion providing advanced around-the-clock care for stroke patients, with doctors conducting their first surgery in a new hybrid operating room on Wednesday.

The latest expansion of the stroke and cerebrovascular program includes three neuroendovascular surgeons who can conduct minimally invasive or more complex procedures inside blood vessels, and a biplane imaging suite that can provide real-time multidimensional views of blood vessels in the brain, according to hospital administrators.

"Time is brain," said Dr. Alan Wong, chief medical officer at Mount Sinai South Nassau, in an interview. For stroke patients, speedy treatment is essential to prevent physical disabilities or death. 

Before adding a biplane suite, stroke patients requiring advanced care who could not be treated with medication were transported to other hospitals, Mount Sinai South Nassau administrators said. The hospital now has two biplane systems, one in a hybrid operating room and the other in a suite near the emergency department. 

Aging is a significant risk factor for strokes, something increasingly relevant to Long Island as wider swaths of the population grow older, said Wendy Darwell, the president and CEO of the Suburban Hospital Alliance of New York State. She said  many chronic conditions, such as heart disease, also elevate risk for stroke.

Long Island's senior population grew 24% between 2013 and 2023, with more than half a million residents 65 or older, according to a 2025 report highlighting a "record-high older adult population" in the region from the Center for an Urban Future, a public policy think tank based in Manhattan.

In Nassau County, cerebrovascular disease — referring to conditions that affect blood flow in the brain — was the third leading cause of death for adults in 2023, according to state data. 

"Having access nearby is an important investment for that part of Long Island and should lead to better outcomes whenever we can treat people faster," Darwell said.

Mount Sinai South Nassau is the only South Shore hospital in Nassau County that can provide 24/7 emergency stroke treatment, according to a news release. 

"Our advisory board has felt, for many years, that people and their families shouldn't have to travel if we can provide those advanced services right here," Wong said.

The need for speed was similarly highlighted by Dr. Michael "Travis" Caton in an interview Wednesday, fresh off the second procedure to be conducted in the new suite at Mount Sinai South Nassau. 

"When you're dealing with something like a huge stroke, you have to be able to flip a switch and mobilize a team in an operating room essentially at the drop of a hat," he said. 

That speed made a difference for Mia Amorosa, 50, after she suffered a stroke in August 2025. The Long Beach mother of three was rushed to the hospital after she woke up paralyzed from her right shoulder down, where she was quickly treated by Caton and a team of specialists.

Her recovery was fast, she said. She was discharged just five days later, and the only lingering impact is a slight tremor in her leg when she's stressed. 

Caton cleared her to travel shortly after, allowing her to tour colleges with her eldest daughter during lacrosse recruiting season. Her daughter, now a senior in high school, later earned a lacrosse scholarship to the University of New Hampshire. 

"The team just seemed to be ready from the second I arrived," Amorosa   said. "I don't know what my outcome would have been otherwise." 

The additions are part of a broader $500 million  capital expansion of the hospital campus, including a new power plant, parking garage and ambulatory site, and a $50 million five-year renovation and expansion of the emergency department. The hospital also plans to start offering open-heart surgery.  

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers personal finance and affordability for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.