Contact:
Jack Routledge
Marketing
(914) 681-1119
White Plains, NY - May 12, 2008 - Continuing its 115th year tradition of meeting the healthcare needs of the community, White Plains Hospital Center (WPHC) today celebrated the opening of its cardiac catheterization laboratory. Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey, White Plains Mayor Joseph M. Delfino and members of White Plains Common Council joined WPHC administrators, board members, physicians, nurses and others in marking the Hospital's latest investment in an advanced medical capability that will benefit patients.
The state-of-the-art cardiac cath lab will arm the Hospital's cardiologists with highly sophisticated and effective diagnostic procedures that can identify heart disease and structural heart defects. Services will include coronary angiograms, which use narrow catheters, contrast dye, and X-ray images to identify blockages in the coronary arteries.
The Hospital also announced that the lab's Medical Director will be Mark A. Apfelbaum, M.D., Director of NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System Cath Labs at the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. In addition, Jeffrey W. Moses, M.D. will serve as Medical Director of WPHC's Invasive Cardiology Services. Dr. Moses is Director, Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.
The opening of the cardiac cath lab also marked the first use of the five-story addition that will be home to the new and expanded Emergency Department (ED). The lab is located on the third floor of the 7,000-square foot structure. The new ED will occupy the first two floors when it opens in early 2009.
Jon B. Schandler, WPHC President and CEO, said: "This is another major development in the Hospital's ongoing commitment to provide the best level of care possible to the many communities we serve by investing in the latest medical technologies." He added: "The cardiac cath lab will significantly enhance the capabilities of our cardiologists to help identify the presence of heart disease and determine the need for treatment."
Schandler also noted that the Hospital was very fortunate to have Drs. Apfelbaum and Moses to lend their vast cardiac cath lab expertise and experience.
The cardiac cath lab builds on the Hospital's extensive minimally invasive capabilities and enhances its cardiovascular testing program. It was the first community hospital in the Westchester/Fairfield area to acquire the daVinci® robotic surgical system which is used for many minimally invasive prostate, gynecologic and general surgery procedures.
The cardiac cath lab comprises three areas. The first is the Prep and Recovery room where nurses brief and prepare patients before undergoing diagnostic procedures. When the procedures are completed, the patients return to this area to be monitored 1 to 2 hours before returning home or to a Hospital room.
The Control Room is where nurses and technicians monitor the patient's vital signs as well as the progress of the procedure.
In the Procedure Room, diagnostic procedures are performed. One of these is the coronary angiogram which can identify blockages in the coronary arteries. During the 30-minute coronary angiogram, the patient is given a sedative before a narrow catheter is inserted in a tiny incision in the patient's groin or arm. The physician guides the catheter through the arteries to the heart. A contrast dye is injected and flows through the arteries to create images showing any arterial blockages that may exist.
Paul M. Weissman, WPHC Board Chairman, said: "Today, White Plains Hospital Center is again making history by being at the forefront in delivering an advanced level of care, this time in the fight against heart disease. It's fitting that the cardiac cath lab has become a reality in the Hospital's 115th anniversary year. Our Hospital is going to again celebrate the cardiac cath lab's opening as well as our 115th anniversary in a very special way in a few weeks with our very first Wellness Week. It will be the most ambitious wellness undertaking ever staged in Westchester and will become the Hospital's annual signature event."
