Entenmann Family Donates Record-Breaking Gift To LI Hospital

BAY SHORE, NY – South Shore University Hospital recently received the largest monetary donation in its history, thanks to a famous baking company with Long Island roots, announced Northwell Health on Tuesday.

The Entenmann family, best known for their iconic baked goods enterprise, bestowed the hospital with a record-breaking contribution this September. While the family declined to disclose the gift's total amount, hospital representatives say it will support the hospital’s ongoing $500 million construction of a 45,560-square-foot Women & Infants Center. A new pavilion will also be built and will house private inpatient rooms and operating rooms, all with a focus on enhancing patient care and experience. In addition, SSUH's campus will be named the Entenmann Family Campus in recognition of their generosity.

“This gift will fuel our ability to provide lifesaving care, not only for patients in this community, but for patients across all of Suffolk County,” said Donna Moravick, SSUH executive director. “We received 1,200 transfers – many via our SkyHealth helicopter service — from Mather Hospital, Peconic Bay Medical Center and Huntington Hospital, into SSUH last year alone. I look at every gift with gratitude and think of just how many lives we’ve saved, and can continue to save.”

The gift is part of Northwell’s Outpacing the Impossible campaign, a $1 billion comprehensive fundraising effort to fuel innovation to advance health care and support Northwell’s promise to the people it serves. The campaign was publicly launched in October 2018 and according to a press release, has raised more than $890 million to date.

In 2011, a donation from the Entenmann family established SSUH's Entenmann Family Cardiac Center and "served as a catalyst for the hospital’s incredible growth." Hospital representatives say that one decade later, the family’s latest gift marks SSUH's next significant milestone.

“South Shore University Hospital provides critical services throughout the region,” said Michael Dowling, Northwell’s president and CEO. “We are unbelievably grateful to the Entenmann family for their commitment to raising health in the community and we remain steadfast in our commitment to expand and enhance Northwell Health’s flagship hospital in Suffolk County.”

In 1905, William, Robert and Charles Entenmann moved their famous baking company’s factory from Brooklyn to Bay Shore, Long Island, just blocks away from the hospital. Today, the family says it owes its success to the support of the Bay Shore community, and feel compelled to give back.

“We didn’t initially plan to add our name, but when you arrive at the hospital and see the Entenmann Family Campus, it serves as a ‘thank you’ to everyone in the community,” said Jaime (Entenmann) Padden. “They’re the ones who made Entenmann’s Bakery successful. So, for everyone who ever worked at the bakery or knew my family, I want them to know that South Shore is there for them."