Contact:

Scott Orstad

Manager, Corporate Communications

(203) 276-5933

sorstad@stamhealth.org

Contact:

Leanna Mauro

Publications Specialist

(516) 663-2234

lmauro@winthrop.org

Mineola, NY - March 13, 2008 - Winthrop-University Hospital is pleased to announce the appointment of Collin Brathwaite, MD, to the position of Chief of the Division of Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery and Director of the Bariatric Surgery Center. 

A board-certified surgeon and critical care specialist with expertise in a range of general surgery procedures, Dr. Brathwaite is highly regarded in the field of bariatric weight-loss surgery.  He has performed more than 1,400 procedures including Laparoscopic Gastric Banding, Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass and the minimally-invasive Sleeve Gastrectomy - an operation that drastically reduces the size of the stomach. In addition, Dr. Brathwaite is highly-skilled in performing revision surgeries to correct and repair problems related to previous bariatric procedures. 

Contact:

Scott Orstad

Manager, Corporate Communications

(203) 276-5933

sorstad@stamhealth.org

Stamford, CT - March 4, 2008 - Recent news from the American Cancer Society shows a 50 percent relative decline in colorectal cancer death rates from 6 percent to 3 percent.  Local experience at Stamford Hospital's Bennett Cancer Center presents an even more optimistic picture.  The 16-year-old community cancer center surpassed national statistics for early diagnosis and survival rates of its late-stage colorectal cancer patients.

Specifically, physicians and administrators at the Bennett Cancer Center learned that it had:

• Higher Diagnosis Rates during the First Stage of Colorectal Cancer.  Stamford Hospital diagnosed 27 percent of its colorectal cancer patients in Stage I.  The national average was slightly lower at 20 percent.

• Higher Survival Rates for Stage III Patients.  Stamford Hospital's Stage III patients had a 74 percent five-year survival rate while the national average hovered at a much lower 56 percent.

• Better Outcomes also for Stage IV Patients.  In Stage IV, Stamford Hospital's patients had an 18 percent five-year survival rate, far exceeding the national average of 9 percent.

Contact:

Nancy Gold

The Gold Standard

(914) 232-6583

marketing@thegoldstandard.com

Mary Sernatinger

Marketing and Communications

(914) 366-3109

msernatinger@pmhc.us

Sleepy Hollow, NY - March 3, 2008 - Phelps Memorial Hospital Center announces the expansion of its capability to diagnose sleep disorders in children, with specialized diagnostic services provided by Dr. Nadav Traeger, a pediatric pulmonologist who is board certified in Sleep Medicine.

Dr. Traeger stated, "I'm happy to join the team at Phelps to expand its Sleep Center capabilities and address the unmet need in the community for sleep studies in pediatric patients.  Over the past few years, an increasing number of papers have been published on the negative effects of various sleep problems in children, especially with regard to obstructive sleep apnea.  With pediatricians' growing awareness of this disorder, there has been an increasing need to perform sleep studies in children to make a proper diagnosis and decide whether the child should have surgical treatment."