Michael J. Dowling, Northwell Health’s president and CEO, joins heart patient, Al Mullery, and physicians in a ribbon-cutting event at the Heart Hospital.

01/31/2017

MANHASSET, NY — Combining the cardiac expertise of North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center into a single, patient-centered facility, Northwell Health today announced the opening of the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.

With a staff of over 700, including surgeons, cardiologists, nurses and other specialists, the Heart Hospital features one of the state’s largest cardiovascular programs, performing more than 1,500 open-heart surgeries and 3,000 cardiac interventions annually.

Construction was recently completed on a new, dedicated entrance for the Heart Hospital, offering patients direct access to quaternary cardiac services that have consistently achieved some of the state’s best outcomes for open-heart surgeries and coronary interventions, according to statistical analyses of risk-adjusted outcomes performed annually by the New York State Department of Health (DOH). The most-recent DOH reports, released last fall, ranked LIJ Medical Center as one of only three hospitals in the state with superior outcomes for certain types of open-heart surgeries, and North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) as one of only four New York hospitals with significantly better survival rates for angioplasty, earning them the DOH’s prestigious double asterisk for their performance.

LIJ Medical Center continues to offer interventional cardiology services at its New Hyde Park campus, but all of the hospital’s cardiac surgery staff are now part of the Heart Hospital at North Shore.

Designed as a hospital within a hospital, with not only a separate entrance but its own parking and curbside registration and a personal concierge, the Heart Hospital treats the region’s most-complex cardiac cases, including many individuals who other hospitals turn away. It also includes a 22-bed cardiothoracic intensive care unit staffed around the clock by critical care physicians, five operating rooms dedicated to cardiac patients, and eight cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology labs.

The Heart Hospital will also feature a 24/7 cardiology model to ensure a board-certified cardiologist is on site at all times. To meet the growing demand for services, the hospital plans to open its cardiac catheterization labs on weekends.

“Unlike other cardiac programs in the region, the Heart Hospital accepts any patient, 24/7, without regard to the severity of his or her illness or socioeconomic level,” said Alan Hartman, MD, senior vice president, executive director and chair of cardiothoracic surgery at Northwell Health. “In fact, we treat more life-threatening aortic dissections than any other program in the tri-state region, and still managed to achieve superlative ratings for outcomes from the state Department of Health. It’s about more than just the numbers. We are committed to helping all patients, no matter their risk.”

Alexander Muller, 76, of Ridge, NY, a patient who received complex heart surgery from Dr. Hartman, spoke at the ribbon-cutting event. “It is difficult for me to adequately express my appreciation and gratitude to Dr. Hartman for saving my life not once – but twice,” he said. Mr. Mullery explained he had dire cardiac condition, an aortic dissection, that was repaired by Dr. Hartman at the Heart Hospital in August. Twenty years prior, Dr. Hartman performed an aortic valve replacement. In a surprise presentation, Dr. Hartman presented Mr. Mullery, an avid golfer, a putter club.

“I’m already back to walking and biking with my wife,” said Mr. Muller. “Now, I’m looking forward to playing golf in the spring.”

With access to NSUH's rooftop helipad, the Heart Hospital also accepts transfers from other hospitals through SkyHealth, the New York area’s first, hospital-based, helicopter emergency medical service, which Northwell Health established in 2014. Supporting SkyHealth, NSUH, and numerous hospitals and health care facilities is Northwell Health’s Center for Emergency Medical Services (CEMS), the largest hospital-based ambulance fleet service in the New York metropolitan area. Whether it’s a 911 emergency call from someone’s home or a transfer between hospitals, Northwell’s paramedics and emergency medical technicians are always in contact with the service’s state-of-the-art medical control facility housed at NSUH’s emergency department. Board-certified emergency medicine physicians guide critical patient care, which enables doctors and paramedics to stay connected while patients are on route to the hospital.

Following an exhaustive review of its performance and quality, NSUH was selected in 2014 by the esteemed Cleveland Clinic as its exclusive New York member of the Clinic’s Heart & Vascular Institute, a national network alliance of prestigious heart hospitals.

“We didn’t set out to just bring in more volume,” said Barry Kaplan, MD, co-director of the Heart Hospital, chair of cardiology at NSUH and LIJ, and interim executive director of Northwell Health’s cardiology service line. “The Heart Hospital’s objective has always been to deliver high-quality work, while providing patients with experiences and outcomes they cannot get elsewhere.”

“With North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center only 1.8 miles apart, integrating our cardiac expertise and programs helps us deliver the best care to the community,” said James Taylor, MD, co-director of the Heart Hospital. “In addition, our continued dedication to research and innovation give our patients access to the latest technologies available.”

The donor who made the Heart Hospital possible, Ms. Bass is a long-times supporter of cardiac programs at both NSUH’s and LIJ, in addition to support she has provided to Cohen Children’s Medical Center and the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. Last September, Northwell opened its new Center for Liver Diseases in Manhasset, also named in honor of Ms. Bass. She also serves as a life trustee of Northwell Health.

Clinical Innovations

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the United States. A nationwide obesity epidemic, coupled with an aging population, makes effective and efficient treatment of cardiovascular conditions all the more urgent. Northwell Health Cardiovascular and Thoracic Services specializes in managing a full spectrum of cardiovascular and thoracic conditions, including:

• Aortic valve disease, including surgical options as well as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
• Aortic disease, including aortic dissection and aneurysm treatment
• Cardiac rhythm disorders
• Structural and congenital heart disease
• Coronary artery disease
• Heart failure
• Mitral valve disease, repair and reconstruction
• Reoperative surgical disease
• Peripheral vascular disease
• Lung cancer and other thoracic conditions treated robotically, when appropriate

Heart Hospital physicians offer many groundbreaking treatments and novel services, as well as multi-center research studies and national and international clinical trials. To help reduce preventable hospital readmissions for patients undergoing certain cardiac procedures, Northwell Health also offers the Follow Your Heart™ program, which enables all cardiac surgery patients to receive follow-up visits by nurse practitioners at home from the same health care providers who treated them in the hospital. In addition, significant investments were also made to the Heart Hospital’s heart failure services and new LVAD (left ventricular assist device) program, which provides complex open-heart surgery to implant a state-of-the heart mechanical heart pump.

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About Northwell Health
Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 21 hospitals and over 550 outpatient practices. We care for more than two million people annually in the metro New York area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 61,000 employees – 15,000+ nurses and nearly 3,400 physicians, including nearly 2,700 members of 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.