North Shore opens ambulatory facility

The North Shore Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System recently opened what they hope will be the first of several new Queens facilities. The Specialty Medical Center at Forest Hills, located at 68-60 Austin Street, will offer ambulatory care, equal to that at the healthcare system’s main campuses, officials said.
“We think it is important to replicate what we have here,” said Robert Dubicki, the Senior Vice President for Ambulatory Care at North Shore-LIJ, of the state-of-the-art facility in central Queens.
Officials said they are now eyeing locations in Flushing and southern Queens to open additional centers, which Dubicki was quick to distance from the term “satellite” offices. The Forest Hills location was specifically modeled from the Center for Advanced Medicine in Lake Success and will offer disease-centered outpatient services from a single location.
“These are the exact services we deliver at our main campus,” Dubicki said, explaining that the Forest Hills location will be staffed by 24 physicians in 15 specialties - including a kidney transplant specialist. Officials expect that number to grow to 40 doctors within the next six to eight months.
Housing so many doctors within the same facility will create a medical-care synergy. Dubicki said that doctors can refer patients to their colleagues right across the hall, and Dr. Sunil Patel explained that the arrangement allows for comprehensive treatment.
“We are not just working at curing their diseases, but at taking care of the whole human being,” said Patel, an Internal Medicine specialist.
In addition, the Forest Hills location boasts easy-access for Queens residents, traveling by both car and mass transit, North Shore-LIJ officials said.
“We wanted to be in central Queens just because of the central nature of Queens,” Dubicki said.
The first phase of the facilities implementation - which includes The Institute for Orthopedic Science, The Harvey Cushing Institutes of Neuroscience, Cancer Care, Kidney Transplant, Vascular Center, Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Urology, Cardiology, labs, and Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation Services (STARS) - has already opened.
Plans are now in the works for phase two, which could include diagnostic imaging, Schneider’s Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Subspecialty services, walk-in urgent care and additional medical office space.
At an opening reception on Thursday, March 20, both doctors and visitors had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the homey exam rooms and equipment like a digital x-ray machine, which can transmit images anywhere in the world.
Dr. Kumar Reddy, the orthopedic specialist who will work full-time at the Forest Hills location, said that the facility also had access to the latest medical advances like “gender-specific” knee replacements, which first designed in 2006.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Richard Seldes, who attended the opening and works nearby, praised the cutting-edge technology and expectation for high-quality services.
“There’s really no need for patients to go into Manhattan [now],” Seldes said, later adding, “The patient really benefits.”