Following a three-year report, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) has determined that “LIJ Medical Center ranks as the best hospital in New York for heart bypass surgery,” according to a recent release.
“The results of the state’s latest reports help eliminate the guesswork for heart patients, who are often confounded by a multitude of advertising claims and studies about who can best meet their needs,” said Dr. Stanley Katz, the Senior Vice President of Cardiovascular services for the North Shore-LIJ Health System.
During a press conference, two open-heart surgery survivors detailed their experiences at LIJ Medical Center.
Fresh Meadows resident Dominic Masaro, a 74-year-old diabetic who has been on dialysis for three years, was taken to LIJ by ambulance after suffering from chest pains. At the hospital, it was found that Masaro’s had “three severely blocked arteries” and was in need of triple-bypass surgery.
Following the surgery, which was performed by Dr. Jacob Scheinerman, Masaro is “comfortable and thriving.”
Another patient, 77-year-old Long Island resident Charles Schulman, is also doing well after undergoing triple-bypass surgery in 2007. While already being treated for chronic high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat, Schulman, an attorney, felt his heart pounding while walking into the Queens Courthouse and was taken to the hospital.
Along with being ranked number one for heart bypass surgery by the recent DOH report, “the hospital had a risk-adjusted mortality rate of one percent for bypass surgery coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery during the three-year period covered in the report (2004-06) – the lowest in the state,” a press release said.
Only two New York State hospitals had success rates that were “significantly better from a statistical standpoint than the statewide average.” Of the two, LIJ Medical Center was the only one located in the Queens and Long Island area.
“These Department of Health reports, based on an exhausting analysis of 58,614 open-heart surgery cases and 167,752 angioplasty procedures, clearly show that patients can count on getting superior cardiac care, regardless of whether they go to LIJ or North Shore University Hospital,” Kayz said.
