Individuals suffering from depression that hasn’t responded to other treatments may be eligible for an esketamine program at Northwell’s Mather Hospital.

SPRAVATO™ (esketamine) is a nasal spray medication specifically designed for adults with treatment-resistant depression. It is administered under medical supervision at our Infusion Center on the Mather Hospital campus. Esketamine can provide relief when other antidepressant therapies have been unsuccessful.

“Esketamine is a new psychiatric medication that targets depression through a novel pathway of NMDA antagonism (substances that inhibit the function of NMDA receptors),” said psychiatrist George Lasker, MD, PhD. “It works differently than oral antidepressants which typically target serotonin, norepinephrine and/or dopamine. It is fast-acting, and our treatments significantly reduce depressive symptoms in a short period of time. Esketamine can be life-changing for patients with treatment-resistant symptoms.”

You may be a candidate for esketamine if:

  • You have depression that hasn’t improved with other treatments.
  • You are currently under the care of a psychiatrist.
  • Your psychiatrist refers you to our program.
  • You meet the criteria for treatment following a pre-screening evaluation.

The initial phase of the program involves twice-weekly treatments for four weeks, followed by a maintenance phase of weekly or bi-weekly treatments adjusted to your individual needs. Each session lasts approximately two hours, allowing ample time for administration and monitoring. You will be closely monitored by our experienced medical team throughout each treatment session.

Learn more about Mather Hospital’s esketamine program.

 

About Mather Hospital

Mather Hospital is an accredited 248-bed, non-profit community teaching hospital dedicated to providing a wide spectrum of high-quality health care services to Suffolk County residents, showing compassion, respect and treating each patient in the manner

we would wish for our loved ones. Mather received its third top five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for outcomes, patient experience and process and the prestigious Magnet® recognition three times from the American Nurses Credentialing Center for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice. The hospital was rated high performing by U.S. News & World Report 2025-2026 Best Hospitals rankings in two medical specialties of gastroenterology and GI surgery and pulmonology and lung surgery, and for congestive heart failure, kidney failure, and pneumonia. Mather also was named one of America’s 250 best hospitals for 2023, 2024 and 2025 by Healthgrades and in 2025 received Healthgrades’ Outstanding Patient Experience Award™ for the fifth consecutive year. The Leapfrog Group awarded Mather its 22nd top A grade for patient safety in the spring 2025 ratings. Our Graduate Medical Education program prepares physicians for future careers through Internal Medicine, Transitional Year, Diagnostic Radiology, Interventional Radiology, Psychiatry and Pharmacy residency programs and gastroenterology and hematology/oncology fellowships. For information about Mather Hospital, visit matherhospital.org or follow us @MatherHospital on Facebook.

 

About Northwell Health

Northwell is the largest not-for-profit health system in the Northeast, serving residents of New York and Connecticut with 28 hospitals, more than 1,000 outpatient facilities, 22,000 nurses and over 20,000 physicians. Northwell cares for more than three million people annually in the New York metro area, including Long Island, the Hudson Valley, western Connecticut and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Northwell is New York State’s largest private employer with over 104,000 employees – including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners and Nuvance Health Medical Practices – who are working to change health care for the better. Northwell, named a TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025, is making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. Northwell is training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.