Patient Experience

  • To help patients take a more active role in their health and wellness, North Shore-LIJ rolls out a web-based patient portal that allows patients to access their personal health information anywhere and anytime. FollowMyHealth™ is available to patients who have received care from North Shore-LIJ hospitals and physician practices across Long Island and New York City.
  • North Shore-LIJ launches SkyHealth, the New York area’s first hospital-based Helicopter Emergency Medical Service in partnership with Yale-New Haven Health. Patients of both health systems needing lifesaving care for major traumas, heart attack, stroke and other life-threatening brain injuries can receive emergency medical care by helicopter and be quickly flown to the most appropriate hospital.
  • To support SkyHealth, the health system invests $7 million to purchase the helicopter and $6.5 million to build a rooftop helipad at North Shore University Hospital.
  • Phelps Memorial Hospital Center opens a new 20,163-square-foot surgical suite with five spacious, state-of-the-art operating rooms, complete with the latest surgical equipment and comfortable private patient rooms.
  • Physicians at the North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute’s Center for Stereotactic Radiosurgery begin treating cancer patients with the newly installed Gamma Knife Perfexion® system. Used to treat brain tumors and lesions that are too difficult for an open surgical approach, Gamma Knife radiosurgery involves a technique called stereotactic radiosurgery, a method of delivering high doses of radiation to a targeted area without damaging the surrounding healthy tissue.
  • Lenox Hill Hospital expands its radiation medicine program by adding Manhattan’s only TomoTherapy unit, which combines 3D-imaging technology with rotational delivery of radiation to deliver extremely accurate, highly focused radiation therapy. The $15 million dollar project also enables Lenox Hill to expand radiation oncology services to include intra-operative radiation treatments for breast cancer.
  • The health system creates an outpatient rehabilitation hub by moving its physical medicine and rehabilitation outpatient practice to 1554 Northern Blvd. in Manhasset, NY. The site already houses Transitions of Long Island, an outpatient rehabilitation program for those recovering from a brain injury, and a branch of STARS (Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation Services). The relocation of physiatrists is designed to facilitate and enhance collaborative treatment of patients who require care from multiple rehabilitation professionals.
  • Forest Hills, Franklin and Southside hospitals implement the eICU program, which uses remote technology to deliver critical care expertise. The initiative — the only one in New York State — uses audio/ visual equipment and proprietary software from a remote location to support bedside staff.
  • LIJ Medical Center designs a new emergency room experience that emphasizes decreased wait times and improved efficiency without sacrificing expert care. As part of the process, patients are greeted and registered when they arrive, a chart is created, an RN assesses patients and assigns an acuity level to triage patients based on the severity of their illness or injuries, and issues them an ED Care Card so that both the patient and the medical team can track the time spent in the ED and any tests that are ordered, pending or completed.
  • CirrusHealth, a patient-centered, transition-of-care platform developed by the Lenox Hill Hospital neurosurgical team, receives an honorable mention for “Most Innovative” patient education submission in the nationwide Box and Dignity Health Patient Education App Challenge. CirrusHealth’s first app offers patients who are currently undergoing treatment a virtual office visit and video discharge summary focused on providing highly personalized, multimedia education content to support the transition from one level of care to another.
  • North Shore-LIJ completes the last phase of a $50 million, three-year project to upgrade its diagnostic imaging systems. The final phase cost $12 million and included installing 15 computed tomography (CT) scanners at facilities to reduce patients’ exposure to radiation and provide the highest quality imaging.
  • Staten Island’s only “high-field” open MRI is installed at Verrazano Imaging, part of Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH). One of three new imaging devices at SIUH, the open MRI offers an unobstructed 270-degree, open-air design that reduces claustrophobia and accommodates larger patients. In addition, the powerful, high-field technology delivers excellent image resolution and tissue contrast.
  • Cohen Children’s Medical Center opens a new cardiac catheterization laboratory, a $6 million investment that features diagnostic imaging equipment and other technology used to visualize the arteries and chambers of the heart and treat abnormalities. Cohen is the only children’s hospital on Long Island — and one of the few in the New York area — with a cath lab dedicated exclusively to diagnosing and treating cardiac conditions in children.
  • North Shore University Hospital is the first hospital on Long Island — and only the fourth in the country — to offer a new heart failure monitoring system. The CardioMEMS device is a miniaturized, wireless sensor that helps heart failure patients better monitor their condition and avoid hospitalizations.
  • Lenox Hill Hospital is the first hospital in Manhattan to implant a new insertable cardiac monitor, the smallest implantable cardiac monitoring device currently available.
  • Southside Hospital is the first hospital in Suffolk County to implant a new defibrillator that protects against sudden cardiac arrest. The new device treats dangerously rapid heartbeats without touching the patient’s heart or blood vessels, offering a lower risk of infection while providing protection. Physicians at LIJ Medical Center begin using the device later in the year.
  • North Shore University Hospital upgrades its robot-assisted surgical program with the addition of daVinci Xi technology, which allows hospital surgeons to perform minimally invasive operations with greater dexterity and precision. The hospital is one of only three sites in the New York region offering the latest version of the surgical robot.
  • The health system receives a $2.5 million grant from the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Center for Innovation to expand the Janet and John Raggio Nephrology Institute’s “Healthy Transitions” program for people with chronic kidney disease.
  • Physicians at North Shore University Hospital perform brain arteriovenous malformation and brain aneurysm surgeries in the hospital’s state-of-the-art hybrid operating room (OR). Previously used for cardiac, vascular and gynecologic cases, the state-of-the-art hybrid OR is now being utilized for difficult neurosurgery cases.
  • Lenox Hill Hospital surgeons implant the first federally-approved Baha Attract hearing devices in the United States. The magnetically-attached, bone-anchored device delivers sound without requiring a visible metal snap at the skin surface ensuring the best hearing and aesthetic outcomes to maximize patient satisfaction.
  • A new initiative sponsored by the Janet and John Raggio Nephrology Institute and created by its clinicians utilizes test data from North Shore-LIJ Laboratories to identify patients in the earliest stages of kidney disease so they can receive treatment to prevent life-threatening complications.
  • The Diversity, Inclusion and Health Literacy Physician Council is established to address disparities in patient care delivery. The council consists of North Shore-LIJ physician leadership and members of the Physician High Potential Program.
  • The Comprehensive Epilepsy Care Center at North Shore-LIJ’s Cushing Neuroscience Institute is one of the first on Long Island to use NeuroPace®, a new implantable device that detects abnormal electrical activity in the brain and then uses electrical stimulation to normalize brain activity before the patient experiences seizures.
  • A surgeon at Franklin Hospital performs the first SuperPath® Hip Replacement on Long Island. With this procedure, patients return to their daily activities much earlier than after other hip replacement surgeries and have a low risk of a hip dislocation.
  • A Lenox Hill Hospital physician is the first in the United States to report treating a rare cause of stroke with a new device — the Micro Vascular Plug System® — that enables surgeons to use a minimally invasive procedure to stop blood flow.
  • A urologist at the Arthur Smith Institute for Urology is the first physician in the US to remove an enlarged prostate using the second-generation Thulium Fiberlaser system at LIJ Medical Center. Use of this laser decreases the length of patients’ hospital stays and provides quality results that enable them to return to their everyday lives sooner.
  • Glen Cove Hospital opens an outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation program geared toward patients living with chronic lung disease such as asthma, pulmonary hypertension, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, lung cancer, lung transplant and other conditions to improve breathing and enhance their quality of life.
  • Pain management physicians at Syosset Hospital offer ketamine infusion therapy for post-operative pain and the treatment of chronic pain syndromes.
  • North Shore-LIJ Laboratories uses point-of-care anticoagulation test results to improve ambulatory Warfarin management.
  • North Shore-LIJ Laboratories implements Roche Inform II blood glucose meters system-wide for point-of-care testing.
  • North Shore-LIJ Laboratories conducts a system-wide blood bank risk assessment.
  • New York Health and Hospitals Corporation integration of reference testing is performed at the North Shore-LIJ Laboratories.
  • North Shore-LIJ Laboratories staff collaborate in creating an emergency lab department at the Lenox Hill HealthPlex in record time.
  • North Shore University Hospital’s cardiology reception and waiting area receive new iPad kiosks for patients’ and family members’ use.
  • Forest Hills Hospital unveils its newly renovated lobby, a $2.2 million upgrade that is part of a $12 million investment to meet the future health needs of Queens residents. The new entry way features a redesigned admitting office, pre-surgical testing unit, an enlarged waiting area and a serenity garden.
  • The Don Monti Cancer Center at North Shore University Hospital unveils a newly renovated Family Lounge, designed to provide a quiet, welcoming space for cancer patients and their families.
  • Hospital chefs from Glen Cove Hospital win first prize at North Shore-LIJ’s Third Annual Ultimate Chef Challenge, which was held at Glen Cove Hospital and featured meatless entrées.
  • Twelve volunteers who work at North Shore-LIJ hospitals are among 91 volunteers and auxilians recognized for their service by the United Hospital Fund at the 21st annual Hospital Auxilian and Volunteer Achievement Awards.
  • Staff at Southside and Huntington hospitals provide patients with valuable information regarding early detection screenings and available treatment options as part of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and National Go Blue Day.
  • Cohen Children’s Medical Center patients and their families enjoy a production of “Seussical” in the hospital’s lobby, which is transformed into a theatre setting thanks to the John W. Engeman Theater of Northport, NY. The entire performance is telecast live throughout the hospital for patients who cannot leave their rooms.
  • Syosset Hospital’s Center for Weight Management launches Diet Master Pro, a new app designed by the center’s staff to help keep track of their food intake and exercise.
  • Southside Hospital partners with Cohen Children’s Medical Center’s Center for Specialty Care to provide pediatric cardiology and fetal cardiology services to children in Suffolk County and southeastern Nassau County.
  • Southside Hospital launches a pelvic floor program featuring a multidisciplinary team of specialists who provide the most advanced surgical and nonsurgical treatments for a wide range of pelvic floor disorders.