Southside is First Community Hospital in Suffolk County to Perform the Non-Emergency, Interventional Heart Procedure

On October 23, Southside Hospital performed the first elective angioplasty by a community hospital in Suffolk County. Southside is one of only five community hospitals in New York State selected by the state Department of Health (DOH) to perform interventional heart procedures on an elective or non-emergency basis.Ezra Deutsch, MD, the hospital's director of interventional cardiology, performed the procedure on Oakdale resident James M. Mitchell.

"I feel great," Mr. Mitchell said three days after the procedure. "I went in on Monday and was home Tuesday. It was nice to be so close to home. It made travel back and forth so much easier. But most importantly, Dr. Deutsch, who performed the procedure, and the entire Southside cardiology team were just tremendous - friendly, knowledgeable and very professional."

Historic First!
On October 23, Southside Hospital became the first community hospital in Suffolk County - and one of only five in New York State - to perform an angioplasty, the interventional heart procedure to open clogged arteries, on an elective or non-emergency basis.

Southside had been selected by the state Department of Health to provide the procedure as an elective service this past summer.

Pictured with the happy patient, James Mitchell of Oakdale, NY are (left to right): Tina Boccalino, RN, Judy Ward, RN, Lori LaJoy, RN, Ezra Deutsch, M.D., Mr. Mitchell, Ida Caruso, RN, Susan Murphy, RN and Pat Ackerman, RN.

Angioplasty is a procedure in which cardiologists use a small balloon to open clogged arteries in the heart. In the vast majority of cases, a medicated stent is inserted to remove blockages and restore normal blood flow. "Southside Hospital is extremely proud to participate in this program and to be able to offer this service to our patients," said Winnie Mack, the hospital's executive director. "The real winners of the state's decision are the residents of Suffolk County's South Shore, who can rely on Southside for years to come to meet their cardiovascular and critical care needs."

Coronary interventions have been performed at Southside Hospital since 2001 on an emergency basis as treatment for an acute heart attack, but state regulations had previously only allowed elective angioplasties to be performed in large teaching hospitals with open-heart surgery programs. Following a review of 12 applications statewide, the DOH and its Cardiac Advisory Committee approved applications from Southside and four other hospitals (including South Nassau Communities Hospital in Nassau County) to participate in the state's pilot program.

"Patients now have the option of electing to have the procedure performed at Southside, their hospital, rather than traveling to a tertiary care hospital," said Marc Kirschner, MD, director of cardiology at Southside. "We've gone through a period of tremendous oversight during both the pilot program, and prior to that, in performing angioplasties in emergency situations. We know our ability to deliver quality outcomes is safe and effective and now more convenient for the patient."

Southside offers elective angioplasties at its two existing cardiac cath laboratories and is also constructing a $13.5 million cardiac catheterization suite that will include the latest state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment. As a member of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System, Southside Hospital and its cardiologists have had a long-standing relationship with North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, where Southside patients have gone for elective coronary interventions.

"The state's decision represents a logical extension of our emergent acute heart attack program," said Dr. Deutsch. "With the advent of better technologies, these procedures can now be safely performed in selected patients without the need for on-site, open-heart surgeons. It allows for greater continuity of care." With board-certified cardiologists available around the clock, Southside provides a full array of cardiac care. Its roster of diagnostic and therapeutic treatment includes electrophysiologic mapping studies, pacemaker and defibrillator implantation, arrhythmia ablation, transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography and nuclear stress testing.

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