Featured Story

Wellness institute opens in Greenport as part of hospital’s expanded services

As Stony Brook University Hospital progresses toward a merger with Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport, new services are already being brought to Greenport.

The Ed & Phyllis Davis Wellness Institute at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital has taken up residence just across the street from ELIH, sharing a space with the Center for Prenatal Care on Atlantic Avenue.

The new center specializes in massage therapy, now being offered in Greenport three times a week.

Clinical coordinator and licensed massage therapist Loretta Dalia said that since they began offering the service May 2, the demand has already spiked and they will soon offer additional days as well as evening hours.

“It’s a beautiful setting,” Ms. Dalia said, overlooking Stirling Basin from the building’s balcony last Thursday. “It’s a good opportunity for us to spread our wings to the North Fork, which is a beautiful marriage of the future Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital. We’ll be able to work in a sisterhood with our hospital here.”

Three licensed massage therapists are able to provide Swedish, deep tissue, trigger point, cranial sacral, reiki, manual lymphatic drainage, medical, prenatal and infant massages by appointment, she said.

The current rate is $55 for 30 minutes and $90 for 60 minutes and discounts are available for seniors and active military/service members.

The Wellness Institute also has an office in Hampton Bays that offers wellness-based programs and services such as acupuncture, yoga and barre classes and nutrition counseling. It was founded in 2009 at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital.

Ms. Dalia said the programs are meant to prevent illness by encouraging their patients to live healthier lives. “We educate patients on how to better care for themselves. It’s functional medicine,” she said, adding that physicians at the hospital coordinate supportive healing methods with pharmacology.

According to the American Massage Therapy Association, massage therapy can help increase circulation, relieve tension, reduce stress and anxiety and improve sleep.

There is a growing movement in the oncology community to use massage therapy to treat cancer patients and others who deal with chronic pain. Ms. Dalia said that offering palliative care helps patients manage pain and anxiety through different stages of their diagnosis.

“The effort is to diagnose and treat a patient’s pain, physically, psycho-socially and spiritually,” she said.

But patients who just want to relax are welcome too, she said.

The team of massage therapists envisions offering more services at the new Greenport location, especially once Stony Brook officially takes over Eastern Long Island Hospital. Ms. Dalia said they are already looking into bringing dietary specialists and acupuncture to the area. “Our end goal is to bring as much wellness over here as possible.”

The Ed & Phyllis Davis Wellness Institute is located at 300 Atlantic Ave., across from the hospital in Greenport. For appointments, call 631-726-8800.

Photo caption: Licensed massage therapists Loretta Dalia (left) and Marie Thompson practice massage therapy at the new Ed & Phyllis Davis Wellness Institute in Greenport, which opened in May. (Credit: Tara Smith)

[email protected]