Saturday, October 10, 2026
Dr. Joshua Kugler has spent nearly 25 years caring for patients at Mount Sinai South Nassau. Now, he is taking on a new role at the Oceanside hospital, as it enters what he describes as one of the most consequential periods in its history.
Kugler, 57, was recently named interim president of Mount Sinai South Nassau, succeeding Dr. Adhi Sharma, who retired earlier this summer after leading the hospital since 2021. Kugler, a longtime emergency medicine physician and former chair of the hospital’s Emergency Department, said his focus will be on continuing the hospital’s expansion while preserving the community-oriented culture that has kept him there for decades.
“I am focused on the expansion of advanced services for our patients on the South Shore of Nassau County while ensuring the safety and well-being of our patients and staff,” Kugler said.
The hospital has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, including the opening of the Fennessy Family Emergency Department and a four-story Feil Family Pavilion for expanded critical care capacity. The campus is also in the midst of bringing new surgical capabilities to the South Shore.
On Sept. 29, four of nine newly constructed operating rooms opened, including highly specialized rooms designed for cardiac and neurological procedures.
“It gives you a lot of perspective,” Kugler said. “Everybody is part of a team.”
The expansion is part of a roughly $500 million capital program that has included new parking lots for staff and patients, a new cafeteria, the new operating rooms, and the emergency room.
“They’re beautiful critical care spaces, and that’s about touching people when they’re at their most vulnerable,” he said. “People are vulnerable, the families are vulnerable, and patients can be at great risk. Now, we have beautiful spaces for them.”
For Kugler, the growth represents more than new buildings and equipment. It is part of a long-running effort to give South Shore residents access to increasingly advanced care closer to home.
“I was never a big fan of transplanting people,” Kugler said, recalling his years in the emergency department. “It’s really humbling as an emergency room doctor to stabilize a patient in the emergency room, connect with the family, and then have to tell them, ‘I’m sorry, we can’t provide the level of care needed here.’”
Kugler said the ability to provide more complex care locally can ease the burden on patients and their families, particularly when serious illness requires repeated hospital visits.
His connection to the South Shore extends well beyond his role at the hospital, giving him a personal investment in the community he serves.
Kugler was born in Brooklyn and grew up on Long Island. Before becoming a physician, he worked as a lifeguard at Jones Beach and Robert Moses and became an EMT, experiences that helped shape his desire to work in medicine.
“Even during that time of my life, I really loved saving lives,” Kugler said. “I’ve always found myself moved by the ability to take care of others and giving myself to others.”
He attended Duke University, where he earned a degree in zoology and physics, then subsequently served in the U.S. Navy. The Navy supported his medical education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he earned his medical degree in 1995 and continued his education at Harvard University, receiving a Master of Health Care Management. He later completed an emergency medicine residency at North Shore University Hospital, where he served as chief resident.
Kugler joined Mount Sinai South Nassau in 2001 as an emergency medicine physician and became clinical chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2004. He also served as chief medical officer from 2007 to 2009 before returning to lead the Emergency Department.
He remained closely involved with the hospital through Superstorm Sandy, the aftermath and the closure of Long Beach Medical Center.
After the storm devastated Long Beach, Kugler helped advocate for expanded emergency medical services on the barrier island. The effort eventually led to the development of Mount Sinai South Nassau’s emergency department in Long Beach, which he said was intended to ensure residents could receive care without having to cross the bridge to Oceanside.
“They felt isolated by the superstorm. People left, doctors left, offices closed. Urgent care was the most important thing,” Kugler explained. “They wanted to stay home, and they deserved to have the same access to care.”
His involvement in Long Beach continued through his role as the city’s medical director.
“I think the bottom line there is that you build trust with people,” Kugler said. “And in healthcare, now more than ever, we need to build trust.”
That philosophy is also how he approaches his new position.
“This hospital has always done amazing things for the community,” Kugler said. “But beyond that, we are part of that community.”
As interim president, Kugler is particularly focused on the safety and wellbeing of patients and staff, as well as the challenges facing the healthcare workforce.
He pointed to staffing pressures, an aging workforce and the increasing number of older patients requiring care as challenges facing hospitals nationwide.
“Safety and wellbeing are my top priorities, but I worry about the burnout and the fact that society has so much pressure on it right now,” Kugler said.
For Kugler, that growth and mission is closely tied to the hospital’s relationship with the larger Mount Sinai Health System.
The combination of clinical care, research and medical education gives Mount Sinai South Nassau access to expertise and resources that can be brought to patients on Long Island.
“The idea that ‘we find a way’ is really true here,” Kugler said. “We always find a way to take care of our patients and do it in a better, more meaningful, compassionate way.”
As he takes over the hospital, Kugler said he hopes to maintain that culture while building on the foundation established by Sharma. His next chapter, he said, will be defined by continued growth, but also by maintaining personal connection that he believes distinguishes the hospital.
“As long as you treat everyone with respect, something I have learned, very early on in my career, is that everybody is important, and everybody has a superpower,” Kugler said. “My job is to help everyone be successful in their own ways. I am honored to lead our team during this critical time.”
