Head to Riverhead's Peconic Bay Medical Center, which was just declared among the country's best in the type of surgery that deals with the body's abdominal organs.
The hospital was awarded top honors in the form of a 2010 HealthGrades General Surgery Excellence Award, placing it among the top 10 percent of the nation's hospitals in that category, hospital officials announced this week.
"We could not be more pleased by this honor," said Peconic Bay's president and CEO, Andrew Mitchell. "Earlier this year, we opened the Kanas Center -- a surgical pavilion of unparalleled design and medical technology in Suffolk County -- and we've already achieved the highest rating available in the industry."
HealthGrades is considered the leading independent healthcare ratings organization, officials said. The group provides quality ratings, profiles and cost information on U.S. hospitals, doctors, nursing homes and prescription drugs.
"We set out to build tomorrow's medical center ... today," Mr. Mitchell said of the new surgical wing. "And we've done it."
Other Long Island hospitals to net top honors in the general surgery category included John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson and Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola.