South Shore University Hospital Opens $2M Cardiothoracic Office

Press release from the Southside Hospital:

February 17th, 2021

The new facility can help treat 2,000 patients annually for onsite pre- and post-operative care, including those enduring coronary artery bypass, minimally invasive valve repair and replacement, and more

Ten years after treating its first cardiac patient on Valentine’s Day 2011, South Shore University Hospital (SSUH) opened a $2 million, 2,000-square-foot cardiothoracic office, offering state-of-the-art cardiac and thoracic care within its hospital walls.

Located on the first floor of SSUH, the new space offers patients a variety of onsite pre- and post-operative care for procedures that include coronary artery bypass, minimally invasive valve repair and replacement, aortic pathology and catheter-based valve repair and replacement procedures.

Robert Kalimi, MD, chair of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at SSUH, leads the program and will be joined by Drs. John Goncalves, chief of cardiac surgery, and Syed Hussain, attending cardiac surgeon to treat out of the new facility, which includes nine staff members specially trained in cardiothoracic medicine.

“This new facility has the capacity to handle 2,000 patient visits a year and gives us the opportunity to not only be the premier cardiothoracic facility on the South Shore, but a one-stop shop destination for our patients,” Dr. Kalimi said. “Having three world-class cardiothoracic physicians also allows us to strengthen our relationship with the community by increasing patient access to world-class heart surgeries.”

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An evolving cardiothoracic surgery program

As the clinical team performed its first surgery on February 14, 2011, an emergency case arrived, quickly testing the team’s mettle. The clinical team wasn’t expecting to perform two cases that historic day, but they adapted on the fly. Thousands have now received care at SSUH since.

The growth of South Shore Heart & Lung has aligned with the overall expansion of services at SSUH. Northwell has invested $470.4 million to improve the hospital’s infrastructure and strengthen its clinical and technological capabilities over the last decade, including numerous physician recruitments that have established the Bay Shore hospital as Northwell’s Suffolk County tertiary hospital. That includes South Shore Heart & Lung, which serves as the focal point of care for Northwell in Suffolk County and receives complex cases from Huntington and Mather Hospitals, as well as Peconic Bay Medical Center.

“All of these programs could not function without a tertiary hub that provides top-end cardiac surgery like South Shore University Hospital,” said Steve Bello, regional executive director of Northwell’s Eastern Region, which includes Suffolk County and eastern Nassau. “It really becomes cardiac ecosystem where everyone is dependent on each other.”

Patients receiving care at South Shore have benefitted from ongoing investment and innovation.

In 2018, SSUH opened cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology labs in the Entemann Cardiac Center to allow surgeons to treat blockages and identify and treat heart rhythm abnormalities utilizing advanced Siemens imaging equipment, which essentially reduces exposure to radiation by a third.

The cardiothoracic team has also integrated innovative new surgical approaches, becoming the first hospital in the Northeast to participate in the SUMMIT clinical trial involving Abbott’s Tendyne Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement (TMVR) system, which enables patients to avoid invasive surgery. And in 2020, South Shore Heart & Lung completed a major milestone — its 4,000th heart procedure.

Accolades have followed, including:

• Recognized as one of two hospitals on Long Island to achieve New York State’s best survival 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 both valve and CABG surgery
• Receiving the top ranking from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons for aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgeries
• Ranking among top five percent in the country for cardiac surgery for two straight years, according to Healthgrades
• Becoming first hospital on Long Island to be recognized for its heart attack care by the American Heart Association with the AHA’s Mission: Lifeline gold award, receiving the recognition twice

“Bringing the cardiac program here brought exceptional care to the Bay Shore and Suffolk County community,” said Donna Moravick, RN, SSUH executive director. “Cardiac has been our foundation. It started our transition 10 years ago, and we are continuing to build on that momentum.”

Safeguarding his heart

Security guard Jeff is dedicated to keeping his community safe. So when he needed emergency heart surgery, our experts at Souths Shore University Hospital were there to keep him safe, too.
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This press release was produced by the Southside Hospital. The views expressed are the author's own.