On November 10, 2002, Good Samaritan Hospital will celebrate the rich history of its Centennial Birthday marked by 100 years of service to the community. “The history of Good Samaritan Hospital is remarkable,” says Russ Kenwood, Interim Executive Vice President and Administrator of the hospital. “The hospital came from humble beginnings borne out of the generosity of individuals and organizations in the community. Today, that same community spirit of commitment and philanthropy exists as Good Samaritan continues to be the hospital of choice due to its convenient location, state-of-the-art facility and commitment to good health.

In the Beginning

In 1902, Good Samaritan Hospital opened with seven beds, three doctors, seven nurses and four Sisters of Charity. Today, the hospital excels as a leader in healthcare, with a medical staff of more than 600 doctors and 1,400 employees. Specialized healthcare services at the 370-bed hospital include its comprehensive Bobbi Lewis Cancer Program; an innovative cardiac care and catheterization lab; the Union State Bank Family Birthing Center, including a Level II special care nursery; and Level II trauma services in its state-of-the-art Emergency Department. The hospital no longer serves Suffern alone: Its reach extends to all of Rockland County and southern Orange County in New York and northern Bergen County in New Jersey. Good Samaritan Hospital’s rich history began in 1902 when Suffern’s population was 1,800, and its business district was comprised of four hotels, three churches, one school, a lumberyard, an opera house and an assortment of small stores.

Visitors and part-time residents included many affluent families from New York City. One of these, the Thomas and Ida Barry Ryan family, built a summer home in the community. Thus began the tapestry of events that changed lives forever.

One day while waiting for her private railroad car at the train depot in Suffern, Mrs. Ryan saw a man whose leg had just been severed in an accident. He was lying on a baggage cart waiting to be transported to a hospital. Before the train arrived, the man died. Upset by the lack of medical care in the town, Mrs. Ryan purchased the Messier mansion at Orange Avenue and East Park Place for $7,500. She then donated the building and $25,000 to the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth to create a hospital.

Good Samaritan Hospital was one of the first hospitals to serve Rockland County. In its first year, it treated 162 patients. Rates were $1 a day for the wards and $10 to $14 a day for a private room. The Sisters performed nearly all the chores, including nursing, administration, cooking and laundry.

Rapid Growth

By the end of its first year, the hospital was forced to expand. Mrs. Ryan had a two-story addition and a convent built. The Ladies Auxiliary was formed and attracted its first members from Suffern, Sloatsburg and Spring Valley. The auxiliary raised $87.50 at its first event, and several area businesses gave monetary contributions to the hospital. A nursing school was opened in 1903, and in 1904, the New York State Board of Charities in Albany, N.Y., approved the hospital’s first charter.

During the next decade, the hospital added an operating room, a sterilizing plant and pharmacy and X-ray departments.  By 1917, the hospital had 35 beds, nine physicians and three specialists. The hospital purchased a nearby house for the nurses’ residence, and a new motor vehicle replaced the horse-drawn ambulance.

Although maternity services had been available at the hospital from the beginning, the Spring Valley branch of the Ladies Auxiliary funded the furnishings and equipment for a nursery in 1926 and a maternity ward in 1927. The Good Samaritan Hospital auxiliary raised funds in the 1920s and ’30s to set up a laboratory and pediatric department as well as purchase a portable X-ray machine. These
Auxiliaries maintain this tradition of selfless generosity today.

Best Catholic Hospital In the United States and Canada

By 1929, a population increase created an urgent need to build a larger hospital. A General Building Committee raised $93,000 and, in 1932, bought 25 acres on Lafayette Avenue for $22,500.

The new 72-bed hospital opened on December 14, 1938, with 26 medical staff members and 86 employees. Good Samaritan Hospital was the first hospital in Rockland County to be fully approved by both the American Medical Association and the American College of Surgeons. In 1939, the hospital won an award as the best-equipped Catholic hospital in the United States and Canada.

In 1948, hospital Administrator Sister Miriam Thomas became the hospital’s first Fellow of the American College of Hospital Administrators. Under Sister Miriam Thomas’ leadership, the hospital added two wings and increased capacity to 135 beds.

Population Explosion Fuels Expansions and Renovations

The completion of the Tappan Zee Bridge in 1955 opened Rockland County and Northern New Jersey to an influx of new residents. In 1959, Good Samaritan Hospital responded to the need for medical care with the Cardinal Spellman Pavilion, which contained 40 rooms and a six room emergency suite. Home Care was founded in 1962 and today has grown into one of the largest home care programs in New York.

In 1970, the new Sister Miriam Thomas Pavilion, a five-story, $7 million health facility, was opened, with two 35-bed Medical/surgical floors, a maternal and newborn care center, a laboratory, radiology, a nuclear medicine and cobalt center and a recovery room. The Monsignor Patrick J. Frawley Memorial Psychiatric Unit also opened. 

The St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Critical Care Center was completed in 1980, and the Frank and Fannie Weiss Renal Dialysis Center was opened in 1982. The hospital’s Administrator, Sister Margaret Marian Kiely, began an $85 million building and renovation project brought to completion under the leadership of Joseph Fitzpatrick. It included the construction of a cardiac catheterization laboratory and expansion of the radiology, laboratory and rehab services departments as well as the addition of state-of-the-art equipment. 

Under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer Sister Joan Regan, a 28-bed chemical and alcohol dependency outpatient program was added. Other new services included a children’s diagnostic center, single-room maternity units and a neonatal intermediate care nursery (NICU-level), and brachytherapy in radiation oncology services.

In the 1990s, Good Samaritan Hospital was a modern, 370-bed, full-service hospital with regional specialties in cardiac, cancer and maternal/child care. The hospital served more than 14,500 inpatients and 178,000 outpatients, and its budget was more than $100 million. The Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation launched “Save a Life,” a multimillion dollar campaign for capital funds, raising $5 million for future growth.

In 1996, Good Samaritan Hospital and its sponsors, the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, joined the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, the Sisters of Mercy and the Franciscan Health System to form the Tri-State Health System. The new health system’s service area ranged from the Hudson River to the Delaware River.

Under Jim Martin’s leadership, the hospital opened a radiation oncology unit. The Emergency Department earned a Level II trauma services designation in 1997 and underwent a major renovation the following year. Also opened was a new ambulatory surgery unit, making outpatient surgery quick and convenient for patients. A new Women’s Health Center began offering mammography,
ultrasound and stereotactic breast biopsy services.

Good Samaritan Hospital Rooted in the Past, Standing in the Present, Reaching toward the Future

In January 2000, Good Samaritan Hospital and the Sisters of Charity entered into a co-sponsorship with the Sisters of Bon Secours, creating Bon Secours Charity Health System. In the fall, the hospital unveiled the Union State Bank Family Birthing Center and added a full-time maternity consultant. The Unit offers eight labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum rooms designed with the needs of moms and families in mind. Good Samaritan Hospital also opened a second Renal Dialysis Center in Harriman, N.Y. 

As a result of a gift from Barry Lewis, the cancer program was named in honor of his wife, Bobbi, a dedicated community activist and beloved Rockland County resident. The Bobbi Lewis Cancer Program was recently awarded a prestigious three-year extension of accreditation by The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. 

This year, the hospital has begun extensive outreach in cardiac health awareness, introduced joint replacement and therapy with its Joint Connection seminars and enhanced its Women’s Health Center services. 

The hospital features a Physician Referral Service, to provide instant access to the best physicians in the area. Its award-winning website, www.GoodSamHosp.org, also provides invaluable information and resources.

“We are constantly looking for ways in which we can better serve the healthcare needs of our communities,” says Kenwood. “In another 100 years, we want the community to be able to continue to look back and be proud of the role it has played in the growth and development of Good Samaritan Hospital”.