Northwell cardiac surgery, cardiology programs rank among New York’s best

Lenox Hill, Staten Island hospitals recognized for superior outcomes in multiple categories

NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two newly released New York State (NYS) Department of Health (DOH) reports rank four Northwell Health hospitals as among the state’s best for cardiac surgery and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), a non-surgical procedure used to treat narrowing of the heart’s coronary arteries, and cited several of its physicians for superior outcomes from 2017-2019.

Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, South Shore University Hospital (SSUH) in Bay Shore and Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) were rated among the state’s best outcomes for certain types of open-heart surgery.

The DOH surgery report showed that Lenox Hill, South Shore and Staten Island hospitals earned the prestigious double asterisk in the surgical category of isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or valve or valve/CABG for 2017-2019 discharges, meaning that these three Northwell hospitals had mortality rates significantly better than the statewide average of 1.97 percent.

Lenox Hill was the only hospital in New York State to receive the DOH’s prestigious double asterisk for TAVR, having a risk adjusted mortality rate (RAMR) of 0.58 percent that was a significant improvement from the statewide rate of 2.22 percent. TAVR, or transcatheter aortic valve replacement, is a minimally invasive procedure to replace an aortic valve that is not working properly to repair aortic stenosis.

Northwell’s cardiothoracic programs also were recognized for superior outcomes in several other cardiac surgery categories in the state report. In the category of valve or valve/CABG discharges between 2017-2019, SSUH was the only hospital on Long Island to receive the DOH’s double asterisk rating for having a RAMR of 0.55 percent that was superior to the statewide rate of 2.57 percent. Lenox Hill also received the state’s double asterisk rating in the same category with a RAMR of 0.91 percent.

“The superior outcomes achieved by our cardiothoracic teams, especially at Lenox Hill Hospital, is a testament to the leadership, clinical excellence and dedication of all staff in delivering superb patient outcomes,” said Alan Hartman, MD, senior vice president and executive director of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Northwell Health, and chair of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset. “Our cardiac teams, in concert with clinicians across our integrated health system, are committed to improving quality health care and providing New Yorkers with the most advanced cardiac care.”

Nirav Patel, MD, director of robotic cardiac surgery for Northwell Health, and the vice chair of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Lenox Hill, distinguished himself as the only New York State surgeon to earn the DOH’s coveted double asterisk rating for RAMR that was significantly less than the statewide rate in isolated CABG category from 2017-2019. In addition, Dr. Patel and Robert Kalimi, MD of SSUH earned a double asterisk rating for having a significantly lower RAMR in the isolated CABG or valve or valve/CABG category from 2017-2019.

The state analyzed 69,065 total adult cardiac surgeries, including isolated coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), valve, valve/CABG, and other cardiac surgeries performed statewide and discharged between December 2016-November 2019.

DOH Percutaneous coronary intervention, or angioplasty, 2017-2019

In DOH’s PCI report, Lenox Hill Hospital distinguished itself as the only hospital in the state to receive the prestigious double asterisk for non-emergent in-hospital/30-day, risk-adjusted mortality (RAMR) for PCI in 2019. In addition, Lenox Hill is one of only three NYS hospitals to earn the prestigious double asterisk for having a significantly lower in-hospital/30-day RAMR compared to the state average for all PCI’s performed in 2019.

For the three cumulative years of 2017–2019, Lenox Hill was one of only six hospitals in NYS to earn the prestigious double asterisk for having significantly lower in-hospital/30-day observed RAMR for all PCI cases, as well as being one of only three hospitals in the state to receive a double asterisk for having significantly lower in-hospital/30-day observed RAMR for non-emergent PCI discharges from 2017-2019. Additionally, during 2017–2019, SIUH and Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center in New Hyde Park were two of only six NYS hospitals to earn the prestigious double asterisk for having significantly lower in-hospital/30-day observed RAMR for emergent PCI cases compared to the statewide average.

From an individual standpoint, Avneet Singh, MD, an interventional cardiologist at LIJ eared a double asterisk for significantly lower in-house/30-day observed RAMR for all PCI cases for 2017–2019 discharges.

“Interventional cardiology procedures continue to save lives every day at Northwell’s hospitals across the New York metro area, thanks to our extraordinary clinicians and dedicated team members,” said Varinder Singh, MD, senior vice president of cardiology of the western region at Northwell, and director of cardiology at Lenox Hill. “I’m incredibly proud of the accomplishments of the combined superior outcomes achieved by our cardiac teams in angioplasty and cardiothoracic surgery. Northwell continues to lead the region in cardiovascular care.”

The state analyzed 158,964 percutaneous coronary intervention procedures performed at NYS hospitals between December 1, 2016 and November 30, 2019.

To see a copies of the DOH reports, go to:

Adult Cardiac Surgery
https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/diseases/cardiovascular/heart_disease/docs/2017-2019_adult_cardiac_surgery.pdf

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/diseases/cardiovascular/docs/pci_2017-2019.pdf

About Northwell Health

Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 21 hospitals, about 900 outpatient facilities and more than 12,000 affiliated physicians. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 83,000 employees – 18,900 nurses and 4,900 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners – are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We're 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, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.