“It is a great honor and privilege for me to serve South Nassau in this capacity,” said Schneider. “South Nassau’s emergency department is the only Level II trauma center on the south shore of Nassau County, and it was built to handle about 35,000 visits a year, so this renovation and expansion is sorely needed, and it will benefit all the communities the hospital serves along the south shore — from the Rockaways to the Massapequas. I am confident we will be able to reach our goal.”

The expansion project will increase the emergency department’s square footage from 16,000 to 30,000 square feet, increasing its overall size by 87 percent and giving it the necessary room to accommodate in excess of 80,000 patient visits each year. It will also establish dedicated areas for behavioral health, geriatric and pediatric emergencies.

Schneider is founder, president and chief executive of Joel Schneider Construction Corp., Joel Schneider Management Corp., J. Schneider Group, Ltd (The Schneider Group), and JS Restoration Corp. His firms have successfully completed dozens of projects, including helping to restore properties that were damaged during Hurricane Sandy. He has more than 35 years of experience in the commercial and residential real estate and construction industries.

He also is as an elected member of the board of trustees of Hewlett Bay Park Village and serves on the Nassau County Police Foundation’s Center for Law Enforcement and Intelligence Advisory Board. He is a member of the board of directors of the Boca Raton Police Foundation in Florida.

Schneider assists with fund-raising efforts for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and United Cerebral Palsy Association of Greater Suffolk County. From 2012 through 2014, Schneider served as the co-chair of Sibs Place, a free therapeutic program of South Nassau Communities Hospital that serves children ages 5 to 17 who are living with a sibling or a parent with cancer or another devastating illness.

He lives in Hewlett Bay Park.