NYS Report Ranks Northwell Health Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology Programs Among New York's Best

NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y., Sept. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Two newly released state Department of Health (DOH) reports ranked Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center in New Hyde Park as one of only three hospitals in the state with superior outcomes for certain types of open-heart surgery, and North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn as two of only four New York hospitals with significantly better survival rates for angioplasty.

Based on the DOH's statistical analysis of risk-adjusted outcomes from 2011-2013, LIJ's cardiothoracic team had the state's best success rates for patients undergoing surgeries for isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), the repair or replacement of heart valves, and for those in need of surgeries for both valve and CABG surgery. Now combined with the North Shore University Hospital cardiothoracic surgery program in Manhasset, LIJ was one of only three hospitals in the state that had significantly better outcomes than the statewide average, earning the DOH's prestigious double asterisk for its performance in this category.

In a separate report issued simultaneously by the DOH, North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) was among only four New York State hospitals – and the only one on Long Island – with significantly better outcomes for all angioplasty cases, a procedure that clears blocked arteries and improves blood flow to the heart. Northwell Health affiliate Maimonides Medical Center also was among the four hospitals in that elite group. In addition, Maimonides and NSUH were the only two hospitals in the state to receive the double asterisk for emergency angioplasty cases, while Maimonides and Northwell's Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan were the state's only two hospitals with significantly better outcomes for non-emergency angioplasty.

The DOH reports analyzed 47,150 adult cardiac surgeries, including isolated CABG, valve, and valve/CABG performed at 40 hospitals from 2011-2013, and 145,247 angioplasty procedures – known as percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) – performed at 61 hospitals. Over the three years covered in the report, seven Northwell hospitals – NSUH, LIJ, Lenox Hill, Maimonides, Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH), Southside Hospital in Bay Shore and Huntington Hospital – collectively performed 23,481 PCI procedures. During that same period, five Northwell Hospitals – LIJ, NSUH, Lenox Hill, SIUH, Maimonides and Southside – performed 5,887 cardiac surgeries.

"The state's reports provide the public with detailed information about cardiac procedures, physicians and hospitals, so individuals, families and referring physicians can make informed decisions about where to get the best care," said David Battinelli, MD, Northwell's chief medical officer. "Both reports reaffirm the superior results of the cardiac services being delivered at all Northwell hospitals."

From an individual standpoint, S. Jacob Scheinerman, MD, the former vice chair of cardiothoracic surgery at LIJ during the reporting period and now chair of cardiothoracic surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital, had the lowest statistically significant risk-adjusted mortality rate of any surgeon in the state. Dr. Scheinerman and Israel Jacobowitz, MD, of Maimonides, were two of the cardiothoracic surgeons in New York with a double asterisk for risk-adjusted mortality rates that were significantly lower than the statewide average – out of more than 140 cardiac surgeons evaluated from 2011-2013.  James Taylor, MD, and Harold Fernandez, MD, who joined Northwell Health in 2015, were also recognized in the 2011-2013 DOH report as the only two cardiac surgeons to receive double asterisks for significantly lower mortality outcomes for those practicing at more than one hospital during this reporting period.

Among the more than 400 cardiologists throughout New York State who performed emergency and non-emergency angioplasty procedures during the three years covered in the report, Carl Reimers, MD, of Lenox Hill Hospital was among four cardiologists who received the double asterisk for superior outcomes for all angioplasty cases.

"This is the fourth consecutive reporting period that the combined Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center was recognized by the Department of Health for significantly better outcomes for valve and valve/CABG surgeries – and the second straight reporting period in which LIJ had the best open-heart surgery outcomes in the state," said Alan Hartman, MD, senior vice president and executive director of cardiothoracic services at Northwell Health. "That kind of superior performance is a testament to the leadership of Dr. Scheinerman and the extraordinary team of cardiac specialists who are saving lives every day."

Since 2000, the state DOH has released 11 angioplasty reports. North Shore University Hospital's outcomes have been significantly better than the statewide average seven times for all cases -- and 11 times for emergency angioplasty. During that time, the hospital has earned more double-star rankings than any hospital in the state. 

"These outstanding results are due to an unparalleled team effort at North Shore University Hospital, its comprehensive approach to all interventional cardiology procedures and an unwavering commitment to the best patient care at every stage in the process," said Barry Kaplan, MD, chair of cardiology at NSUH and LIJ, and interim executive director of Northwell's cardiology service line.

To see copies of the DOH reports, go to:

Adult Cardiac Surgery
https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/diseases/cardiovascular/heart_disease/docs/2011-2013_adult_cardiac_surgery.pdf

Angioplasty
https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/diseases/cardiovascular/docs/pci_2011-2013.pdf

About Northwell Health
Northwell Health is New York State's largest health care provider and private employer, with 21 hospitals and about 500 outpatient practices. We care for more than 1.8 million people annually in the metro New York area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 61,000 employees – including 15,000+ nurses and 2,500+ full-time doctors within Northwell Health Physician Partners – are working to change health care for the better. We're making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institute. We're training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine and the School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. And we offer health insurance through CareConnect. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu.

SOURCE Northwell Health

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