Eight specialties within the Mount Sinai Health System were ranked among the top 25 in the nation, according to the 2015-2016 U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings, released in July. The specialties included seven at The Mount Sinai Hospital: Cardiology/Heart Surgery; Diabetes/Endocrinology; Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT); Gastroenterology/GI Surgery; Geriatrics; Nephrology; Neurology/Neurosurgery; and the Department of Ophthalmology at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai. Among the top 25, four specialties moved higher in the rankings between 2014 and 2015, led by Cardiology/Heart Surgery, which now stands at No. 7, up from No. 10; Gastroenterology/GI Surgery at No. 8, up from No. 9; Neurology/Neurosurgery at No. 14, up from No. 15; and Nephrology, which moved up to No. 23 from No. 47.
Both the Department of Urology at The Mount Sinai Hospital and the Department of Otolaryngology at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai also ranked higher in 2015, at No. 26 and No. 42, respectively. Mount Sinai’s Geriatrics department stands at No. 3.
“The U.S. News rankings exemplify Mount Sinai’s ongoing commitment to practicing innovative medicine and providing excellent, patient-centered care,” says Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. “Our physicians, researchers, and medical staff provide world-class care to our patients throughout their lives.”
Five specialties at The Mount Sinai Hospital and one at Mount Sinai Beth Israel were also ranked by U.S. News as “high performing,” including Gynecology, Orthopaedics, Psychiatry, Pulmonology, and Rehabilitation at The Mount Sinai Hospital, and Neurology/Neurosurgery at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
“Ranking seventh nationally for cardiology and heart surgery demonstrates that Mount Sinai is on the leading edge in both the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases,” says Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital.
David H. Adams, MD, Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Cardiac Surgeon-in-Chief at the Mount Sinai Health System, says, “We now rank above a majority of the best-known heart centers in the nation, and this achievement is only possible due to the extraordinary dedication of our cardiovascular team to provide the highest quality of care to each and every patient.”
Mount Sinai Heart opened its 20,700- square-foot Lauder Family Cardiovascular Ambulatory Center in May. With a team of more than 50 cardiologists and vascular specialists, fellows, nurses, and clinical support staff, the expansive Center, located on The Mount Sinai Hospital campus, will treat approximately 300 heart and vascular outpatients per day.
In addition, Mount Sinai’s digestive disease specialists—including gastroenterologists, surgeons, pathologists, nurses, researchers, and nutritionists—now provide personalized treatments and comprehensive care at the newly opened Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Center on The Mount Sinai Hospital campus.
Mount Sinai continues to make advances and provide comprehensive care in Neurology and Neurosurgery. These specialties include endoscopic skull base surgery, treatment of pituitary disorders, minimally invasive treatment of spinal tumors, and treatments for cognitive neurology, multiple sclerosis, vestibular disorders, headache and pain medicine, stroke, epilepsy, neuro-oncology, movement disorders, neuromuscular disorders, and general neurology.
Mount Sinai’s neurosurgeons have been pioneers in such procedures as WEB Embolization and stem-cell transplant for spinal cord injury. Mount Sinai’s Stroke Center—the first Joint Commission-certified comprehensive stroke center in New York State—has received high marks for its rapid response to complex stroke patients, its community outreach and education, and for providing the most advanced neuro-endovascular service in the region.
The Division of Nephrology provides a broad range of care in general nephrology, hypertension, dialysis, and kidney transplantation. The Division’s peritoneal dialysis program grew by more than 30 percent this year. In addition, the Division opened a new hemodialysis unit in Manhattan and initiated a home hemodialysis program. Clinical outcomes—in terms of infection rates, patient mortality, and the incidence of peritonitis—are among the best in the nation. And the Division’s National Institutes of Health funding, in excess of $10 million, is among the nation’s highest.