Old Westbury, NY – NYIT's osteopathic physicians have opened a new medical center in Central Islip with expanded services and special features to improve healthcare for community residents.

The Family Health Care Center, operated by the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine of NYIT, will hold a Family Fun Day on Saturday, June 18 to celebrate the new complex, which replaces an outdated clinic at the NYIT Central Islip property. Local elected officials will join NYCOM faculty for a ribboncutting on June 16.

"It's a modern facility," said NYCOM Dean Thomas Scandalis, referring to the new site at 267 Carleton Avenue. "It's going to have the look and feel of a private practice."

New services include minor breast surgery procedures, genetic counseling, physical and occupational therapy, and geriatric medicine. Twenty NYCOM faculty members will staff the center, which is expected to serve 15,000 patients—about 5,000 more than the old clinic. NYCOM third- and fourth-year students will do rotations and the faculty may set up a residency training program in the future.

"This gives us an opportunity to grow," Scandalis said. "It helps us to satisfy our mission of community outreach with clinical services. It allows for greater opportunity to bring more physician faculty on board so they can continue practice medicine and role model for our students. It gives us an opportunity to do clinical research."

For the Central Islip community, the new center will stress preventative care, particularly for the most pressing concerns such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and women's health. Flat screen monitors in each of the 15 patient rooms will allow patients and doctors to review medical records and discuss health issues.

Last fall, Suffolk County closed a community health center, and local patients were directed to centers in Bayshore and Brentwood. NYCOM's 89-year-old Central Islip facility was long-recognized as inadequate, inefficient and inaccessible to patients. When space in the new building became available, Associate Dean Ronald Manning said NYCOM was able to fulfill a long-time commitment to relocate and improve its services.

The Family Fun Day on June 18 from 9 a.m. to noon will include free "ask the doctor" sessions, blood pressure checks and diabetes screening, tours of the new facility, zumba classes, raffles, and face painting for children.

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About NYIT

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in more than 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has 15,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

Led by President Edward Guiliano, NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. To date, 89,000 graduates have received degrees from NYIT. For more information, visit nyit.edu.

Elaine Iandoli
Office of Communications and Marketing
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