Northwell Health
Northwell Health is a nonprofit integrated health system serving the New York metropolitan region.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Northwell Health is a nonprofit integrated health system headquartered in New Hyde Park, New York. It operates hospitals, outpatient facilities, physician practices, long-term-care services, rehabilitation programs, behavioral-health services, emergency medical services, medical education programs, and research activities across the New York metropolitan region. Its principal service area includes Long Island, New York City, and parts of Westchester County. The organization was created in 1997 through the combination of the North Shore Health System and the Long Island Jewish Medical Center system. For much of its history it operated under the North Shore-LIJ or North Shore–Long Island Jewish name. That identity was increasingly difficult to use as the organization expanded beyond its original Long Island base, and in 2015 the system adopted the Northwell Health name. The rebrand was intended to present the organization as a broader regional health network rather than as a system defined by two founding institutions. Northwell's service model combines hospital-based care with ambulatory and community services. Its network includes tertiary and quaternary hospitals, community hospitals, specialty facilities, urgent and primary-care locations, physician practices, home-care and hospice services, and other post-acute programs. The system also supports medical education through the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, established in partnership with Hofstra University, as well as graduate medical education and clinical research. The brand became especially visible during the COVID-19 pandemic because its hospitals treated large numbers of patients in the New York region during the first major United States outbreak. Northwell also received international attention in December 2020 when critical-care nurse Sandra Lindsay, who worked at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, became the first person in the United States to receive a COVID-19 vaccine outside a clinical trial. The event made Northwell a prominent setting in the public rollout of COVID-19 vaccination. Northwell is not a publicly traded corporation. It is a nonprofit health system governed through a board structure and supported by patient-service revenue, philanthropy, research activity, and other healthcare operations. Its brand positioning emphasizes coordinated care, clinical expertise, medical research, education, and access across a large regional network. Because the organization includes many hospitals and affiliated services, individual facilities retain their own local identities while operating within the Northwell system.
History
Northwell Health traces its institutional history to the healthcare organizations that served Long Island and the surrounding New York region before the Northwell name existed. The modern system was formed in 1997 through the merger of the North Shore Health System and the Long Island Jewish Medical Center system. The combination created a larger nonprofit network with hospital, physician, ambulatory, educational, and research capabilities. For many years, the organization was known as the North Shore-LIJ Health System, also written as North Shore–Long Island Jewish. The name reflected the system's principal founding institutions: North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center. As the network added facilities and expanded into New York City and other parts of the metropolitan area, the legacy name became less representative of the full organization. In 2015, the system introduced the Northwell Health brand. The change unified the system under a shorter name while allowing hospitals and established institutions to retain their local identities. Northwell subsequently developed as an integrated delivery system rather than solely a collection of inpatient hospitals. Its activities include acute-care hospitals, specialty hospitals, outpatient centers, emergency and urgent-care services, physician practices, home care, hospice, rehabilitation, behavioral health, long-term care, and other community programs. This structure allows the organization to manage care across different settings, although the exact services vary by facility. Education and research are central parts of Northwell's institutional identity. In partnership with Hofstra University, the system supports the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. The medical school opened in 2011 and is connected to Northwell's clinical network, graduate medical education programs, and research enterprise. Northwell also operates or supports institutes focused on areas including cancer, cardiovascular medicine, neuroscience, pediatrics, women's health, and population health. The organization played a major role in the New York response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Its hospitals treated patients during the first regional surge, and the system publicized clinical protocols, capacity expansion, and research activity. Northwell gained further national visibility when Sandra Lindsay, a critical-care nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, received a COVID-19 vaccine on December 14, 2020. The vaccination was widely recognized as the first administered in the United States outside a clinical trial and became a symbolic moment in the start of the national vaccine campaign. Northwell remains a nonprofit health system rather than a listed company. It is led by a professional executive team and governed through nonprofit institutional structures. Its current brand represents a broad regional healthcare platform whose major activities span patient care, medical education, biomedical research, public-health initiatives, and community services.
- 2020
COVID-19 response and first United States vaccine administration
[6]Northwell treated patients during the New York COVID-19 surge, and nurse Sandra Lindsay received a COVID-19 vaccine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center on December 14.
- 2015
Northwell Health brand introduced
[2]The former North Shore-LIJ Health System adopted Northwell Health as its new systemwide brand.
- 2011
Zucker School of Medicine opens
[4]The medical school now known as the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell began operations through the partnership between Hofstra University and Northwell.
- 2002
Michael Dowling becomes chief executive
[3]Michael J. Dowling began serving as president and chief executive officer of the health system.
- 1997
Formation of the North Shore-LIJ Health System
[2]The North Shore Health System and the Long Island Jewish Medical Center system combined to form the organization that later became Northwell Health.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit, integrated regional health system combining hospitals, ambulatory care, physician practices, research, education, and community-based services.
Acute and emergency healthcare
Hospital and emergency care
Northwell operates a regional network of community, academic, specialty, and tertiary hospitals. Services include emergency departments, inpatient medicine, surgery, intensive care, trauma-related care at designated facilities, and advanced specialty treatment.
Ambulatory healthcare
Outpatient and physician services
The system provides primary care, specialty consultations, diagnostic services, same-day care, and procedures through outpatient centers and physician practices. These services extend Northwell's network beyond its hospitals and support referrals across the system.
Specialty healthcare
Specialty institutes
Northwell's specialty programs include cancer care, cardiovascular medicine, neuroscience, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics, transplantation, and behavioral health. Programs are delivered through dedicated institutes and participating hospitals and practices.
Community and post-acute healthcare
Home, hospice, and post-acute care
Northwell provides services outside the acute hospital setting, including home health, hospice and palliative care, rehabilitation, long-term-care services, and other forms of continuing support. These offerings address recovery, chronic illness, serious illness, and end-of-life care.
Healthcare education and research · 2011
Medical education and research
Through the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, graduate medical education, clinical research, and research institutes, Northwell combines patient care with physician training and biomedical investigation.
Controversies
Marketing campaigns
- 2020COVID-19 response and vaccination communication
New York metropolitan area · United States
Northwell communicated information about COVID-19 symptoms, testing, treatment, hospital operations, vaccination, and public-health precautions during the pandemic. Its health system became a prominent source of clinical and public information during the New York outbreak.
Outcome. The system's pandemic response and the vaccination of Sandra Lindsay generated substantial national and international attention.
Brand decisions
2015
Rebrand from North Shore-LIJ to Northwell HealthStrategyBackground
The legacy North Shore-LIJ name was closely associated with two founding institutions and was less suitable for a system that had expanded across the New York metropolitan region.
Action taken
The organization adopted Northwell Health as its systemwide corporate brand while retaining local facility names where appropriate.
Aftermath
The new name positioned the organization as a broader integrated health system rather than a network identified primarily with North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
Recent events
SingHealth launches International Administrators Fellowship Network[8]
SingHealth launched the SingHealth International Administrators Fellowship Network, a consortium of ten leading academic medical centres and health systems worldwide, at the Singapore Healthcare Management 2026 congress. The network formalises a structured exchange programme for healthcare administrators, with SingHealth planning to send 40 administrators through the programme over the next five years.
Reported
Former employee sues Northwell Health[7]
A former employee filed a suit against Northwell Health and her former supervisor, alleging discrimination and retaliation during her employment.
Reported
Neuvotion secures exclusive worldwide technology rights[9]
Neuvotion secured exclusive worldwide rights to technology developed by its founder, Chad Bouton, who is a professor at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health.
Reported
Nassau County and Northwell Health announce student vaccination days[10]
Nassau County announced student vaccination days in partnership with Northwell Health at Kennedy Park in Hempstead, scheduled for July 27–31, 2021, to vaccinate eligible students against COVID-19 before the new school year.
- Unconfirmed
Northwell Health launches Just in Time Teaching Tools app[11]
Northwell Health’s Office of Academic Affairs announced the launch of the Just in Time Teaching Tools app for students, trainees and faculty; the app was available in the Apple Store.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Northwell Health joins IBM's Rapid Supplier Connect network[12]
Northwell Health joined IBM's Rapid Supplier Connect network.
Sources12 sources
- 1Northwell Health official websitenorthwell.edu
- 2Northwell Health historynorthwell.edu
- 3Northwell Health leadershipnorthwell.edu
- 4Zucker School of Medicine historymedicine.hofstra.edu
- 5Northwell Health COVID-19 informationnorthwell.edu
- 6Northwell Health report on the first United States COVID-19 vaccinenorthwell.edu
- 7Former employee sues Northwell Healthlawstreetmedia.com
- 8新保集团推出国际行政人员奖学金网络australiannews.net
- 9Neuvotion获得技术的全球独家权利prnewswire.com
- 10纳苏县与 Northwell Health 宣布举办学生疫苗接种日longisland.com
- 11Northwell Health推出Just in Time Teaching Tools应用digitalmedianet.com
- 12Northwell Health加入IBM的Rapid Supplier Connect网络econotimes.com
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