Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care celebrates 10th anniversary
Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care, a leader in on-demand healthcare, is proud to celebrate its 10th anniversary, marking a decade of growth, innovation and impact in the on-demand care industry. Over the past 10 years, Northwell Health-GoHealth has led the industry in advancement and innovation, delivering millions of unparalleled healthcare experiences.
Northwell Health-GoHealth opened its first center in Forest Hills on Nov. 3, 2014, followed by a second center in Massapequa, just two weeks later, with a total of 39 team members and providers. Leaders at Northwell Health saw the potential in partnership and were innovative in the path they mapped for the future of healthcare in the New York metropolitan area. Ten years later, Northwell Health-GoHealth and its team of nearly 1,500 team members and providers offer customers seamlessly connected care through 60 locations and virtual care that is deeply integrated with the high-quality and broad services of Northwell Health.
"This unique partnership between not-for-profit and for-profit organizations broke the rule book and it has been a phenomenal success," said Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling at a recent anniversary celebration. "Back in 2013 and 2014, we set out to make healthcare more convenient by bringing it closer to where people live. The willingness to be innovative and try new things has helped us serve the public better, expanding access to healthcare in our communities for millions of patients."
"We are proud of what this 10-year milestone represents," said Todd Latz, CEO at GoHealth. "It highlights the commitment of our collective team members, our vision for more highly connected care, and the power of mission-driven partnerships. Together, we have built a high-quality, access-driven front door to the healthcare ecosystem in New York, removing friction from the system and supporting healthier people and communities. And the best part is that we are literally just getting started!"
GoHealth’s pioneering partnership with Northwell Health provides customers with the benefits of deeply connected care. When patients visit any of the 60 locations throughout the greater New York metropolitan area, they are cared for by Northwell Health providers and entering the front door to New York’s largest health system where they can be seamlessly connected to Northwell Health’s robust network of specialty and acute care services when necessary.
This highly integrated Connected Care Model can be lifesaving. Just ask Nancy Mitzman, an active Long Island businesswoman who credits her grandson, the team at Northwell Health-GoHealth's center in Sayville, and Dr. Frank Manetta, a Northwell Health surgeon, with saving her life in the summer of 2022.
“I’m really grateful, and so glad [Northwell Health-GoHealth] is here... You walk in and get seen right away – that changes healthcare enormously,” Mitzman said. “This walk-in clinic is associated with one of the best hospitals in New York and we are lucky to have that. I feel totally confident that whatever is happening to me, I’ll get taken care of.”
Mitzman recalls two family members who died years ago as they were taken by ambulance to a hospital because of the time it took getting care at that time. Her own recent experience stands out in stark contrast.
“My grandson said, ‘You don’t look good.’” Although she felt well enough, Mitzman went to the Sayville center. “I go in, lie down, someone looks at me, and the next thing I knew, there are two guys with a stretcher to take me to the hospital.”
At Northwell’s South Shore University Hospital, Mitzman insisted that she was well enough to go home, but “Dr. Manetta comes in and says, ’Nancy, you will be dead if I don’t cut.’” Mitzman’s aorta was torn and leaking blood. Dr. Manetta and the surgical team saved her life with a seven-hour surgery to repair the tear.
The quick, quality care she received on that critical day meant that Mitzman could heal and get back to the active, independent life she still enjoys at 86 years old.
Industry Firsts and Achievements
Over the past decade, Northwell Health-GoHealth has led the urgent care industry with several groundbreaking initiatives, including:
- Opening its first pediatric center in partnership with Northwell Health’s Cohen Children’s Medical center in 2018 offering on-demand care by pediatricians for patients as young as 1-week old in centers designed to meet the needs of young patients and their families.
- Quickly responding to the global COVID-19 pandemic and becoming the first urgent care network in the nation to provide patients rapid molecular COVID-19 testing in April 2020.
- Addressing antibiotic overprescription with an innovative program that was recognized in 2021 by The Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS), which awarded Northwell Health-GoHealth the Pinnacle Award for Quality and Patient Safety.
- Launching programs in 2020 to promote sexual health for New Yorkers through on-demand testing, preventative care and post-exposure treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia.
- Ongoing efforts to improve healthcare access for vulnerable populations. In 2024, Northwell Health-GoHealth earned “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” designation in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index, and became the first urgent care to achieve Autism Friendly Designation from Autism Speaks.
These programs create better and more equitable access to healthcare for all patients, especially the most vulnerable.
For Eric and Risa Trinagel, the parents of twin boys with autism spectrum disorder, the Autism Friendly Designation is key. The Northwell Health-GoHealth Elwood center is one of three to have earned the designation. It is a trusted resource for families like the Trinagels, who all too often encounter staff at organizations, including in many healthcare settings, who are not trained to work with people on the spectrum. In contrast, Northwell Health-GoHealth team members have been trained to accommodate the needs of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families.
“The first time we went to a Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care, we said that if our kids ever need urgent care, we’d go back here right away,” Eric Trinagel said. Staff at the center “are changing lives one autistic child at a time.”
With the steadfast commitment of unparalleled team members, and the visionary leaders at Northwell Health and GoHealth, the Northwell Health-GoHealth centers have substantially increased access to high-quality care for communities throughout the Greater New York area.