Individuals with depression that has not improved with standard treatments may now have access to a new option at Northwell’s Mather Hospital. The hospital is offering an esketamine program for adults diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression.
SPRAVATO (esketamine) is a nasal spray medication intended for adults whose depression has not responded to other therapies. The drug is administered under medical supervision at the Infusion Center on the Mather Hospital campus. According to the hospital, esketamine can provide relief when traditional antidepressant therapies are 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.”
Eligibility for the program requires patients to have depression that has not improved with other treatments, be under the care of a psychiatrist, receive a referral from their psychiatrist, and meet specific criteria following a pre-screening evaluation.
The initial phase consists of twice-weekly treatments over four weeks. After this period, maintenance therapy continues weekly or bi-weekly as needed. Each session lasts about two hours to allow for administration and monitoring by medical staff.
Mather Hospital is an accredited 248-bed non-profit community teaching hospital serving Suffolk County residents. The hospital has received multiple recognitions for patient care quality and safety, including five-star ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. U.S. News & World Report rated Mather high performing in several specialties in its 2025-2026 Best Hospitals rankings. Healthgrades named it one of America’s 250 best hospitals for three consecutive years and awarded it the Outstanding Patient Experience Award for five years in a row. The Leapfrog Group gave Mather its 22nd A grade for patient safety in spring 2025.
Northwell Health operates 28 hospitals and more than 1,000 outpatient facilities across New York and Connecticut, employing over 104,000 people including more than 20,000 physicians and 22,000 nurses. Northwell was recognized as one of TIME100 Most Influential Companies in 2025 and supports medical research through the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.
