Around seventy community leaders celebrated the ribbon-cutting ceremonial opening of Long Island Select Health Care’s latest clinic in Port Jefferson Station. This former Friendly’s Ice Cream location has been re-purposed to offer a variety of medical and health services, including primary care and mental health.
Observing its tenth anniversary, LISH Care’s other sites include: Central Islip, Hauppauge, Smithtown, Manorville, Center Moriches, and Riverhead.
LISH Care is a 16-specialty Article 28 Federally Qualified Health Center and a NYS Article 16 Rehabilitation Clinic. It has quietly emerged as one of Suffolk County’s most important health resources. According to CEO Aaron Clark: “Long Island Select Healthcare serves anyone who walks through its doors, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.”
Financing of LISH is based on the patient’s family income and size, with a mix of funds from Medicaid, and Medicare and private insurance. Fundraising efforts are encouraged by the federal government, and LISH, as a non-profit organization, has a program for donations and contributions underway.
More than 60% of the LISH patient profile is people with developmental disabilities, autism and special needs. This distinguishes LISH Care from other community health centers. Going into 2026, LISH Care now has more than 8500 patients, and recorded about 74,500 visits in 2025.
The organization was formed when the clinics of three Long Island human services agencies (Developmental Disabilities Institute, Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, and United Cerebral Palsy Association of Greater Suffolk) came together to address a persistent gap in health care access for people with developmental disabilities.
“For many individuals with disabilities and their families, routine medical care has been anything but routine,” Clark said. “Finding providers with the training, patience, and clinical environment to deliver effective care has been an ongoing challenge. Long Island Select Healthcare was built to solve that problem by recruiting physicians, dentists, and specialists who understand how to adapt their approach, communicate effectively, and deliver care that meets patients where they are.”
According to the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, more than 130,000 New Yorkers have developmental disabilities, with about 20,000 on Long Island alone.
In his remarks, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine praised LISH Care as “so important to Suffolk. We want to see more of these community health centers.”
John Lessard, Chairman of the Board, recognized the amazing staff, which now numbers about 150.
