At the Mount Sinai Queens Cerebrovascular Stroke Center opening, from left: Argero “Roula” Siklas, Program Officer, Stavros Niarchos Foundation; Michael E. Minikes, Vice Chair, Mount Sinai Health System Boards of Trustees; J Mocco, MD, MS, Vice Chair, Neurosurgery, Mount Sinai Health System; Caryn A. Schwab, Executive Director, Mount Sinai Queens; David L. Reich, MD, President, The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens; Howard A. Zucker, MD, JD, New York State Commissioner of Health; and Costa Constantinides, New York City Council member, 22nd District.
The New York State Commissioner of Health, Howard A. Zucker, MD, JD, and New York City Council member Costa Constantinides were among the esteemed guests at a special celebration as Mount Sinai Queens unveiled its world-class Cerebrovascular Stroke Center, officially establishing a new model of stroke care in the nation.
The opening of the Stroke Center on Wednesday, June 19, also kicked off festivities marking the 20th anniversary of Mount Sinai Queens becoming a part of The Mount Sinai Hospital. “Even 20 years ago, we had a vision that Mount Sinai Queens would be a great hospital in its own right,” Caryn A. Schwab, Executive Director, Mount Sinai Queens, told the standing-room-only audience. “This is a glorious way to begin our 20th anniversary celebration.” Added Michael E. Minikes, Vice Chair of the Mount Sinai Health System Boards of Trustees: “This is a most exciting time and a stunning achievement. This is a top-of-the-line Stroke Center.”
Mount Sinai Queens intends to vastly improve the speed and efficiency of stroke diagnosis and treatment, including the most devastating form of stroke, emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO), which occurs when there is a blood clot in a major artery in the brain. Stroke may cause severe symptoms in the patient and, when not diagnosed or treated quickly, may result in severe disabilities or even death.
“Every passing minute that blood flow to the brain is blocked, about 2 million neurons die,” said J Mocco, MD, MS, Professor of Neurosurgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Vice Chair of Neurosurgery for the Mount Sinai Health System, and Director of the Health System’s Cerebrovascular Center.
Dr. Mocco led the effort to establish the Mount Sinai Queens Cerebrovascular Stroke Center, which has specially designed equipment that is unique in the United States. It permits the stroke team to rapidly conduct a CT scan, and then an angiogram, to precisely locate the clot, and then perform an endovascular procedure known as a thrombectomy—all in one room, and while the patient remains on the same table.
“The patient doesn’t have to go down multiple halls, or through multiple doors, and they don’t need to be transferred from a stretcher to a bed multiple times before they get their treatment,” said Dr. Mocco.
J Mocco, MD, MS, center, with Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai faculty, from left: Hazem Shoirah, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Radiology, and Director of Thrombectomy Services in Queens; Stanley Tuhrim, MD, Professor and Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs, Department of Neurology, and Director, Comprehensive Stroke Center, The Mount Sinai Hospital; and Reade A. De Leacy, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, and Radiology, and Director of Cerebrovascular Services, Mount Sinai Queens; and Danny Hom, RT, Administrative Director, Mount Sinai Queens Cerebrovascular Stroke Center.
Thrombectomy is the gold standard of care for most ELVO strokes. It requires the expertise of a highly specialized neuroendovascular surgeon who guides a catheter through an artery in the groin or wrist to the brain and uses suction and/or a stent to remove the clot and quickly restore blood flow to the patient’s brain, often eliminating or minimizing brain damage. The goal, Dr. Mocco said, is to drastically reduce the time between hospital arrival, diagnosis, and the start of the clot removal.
“This is cutting-edge medicine,” said David L. Reich, MD, President of The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens. “Mount Sinai Queens has changed the paradigm of medicine and shown what a community hospital can do.”
Dr. Zucker and Mr. Constantinides, who represents the 22nd District, joined the celebration as a show of support for effective and efficient stroke care. Dr. Zucker acknowledged that New York State is a national leader in stroke care and congratulated Mount Sinai Queens. “This is really about leadership and vision—this is big vision,” he said. Mr. Constantinides helped secure funding from the City Council for the specialized equipment. Mount Sinai Queens also received significant support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation for the newly named Stavros Niarchos Foundation Advanced Thrombectomy Suite, where stroke diagnosis and treatment take place.
“Only about 10 percent of people who have this kind of stroke ever even get a chance at this therapy because patients don’t have access to treatment where they live,” said Dr. Mocco. “Conservative estimates suggest there are about 600 patients a year in Queens who have one of these emergent large vessel occlusion strokes. Those patients now have access to treatment that will not only save lives but rapidly restore function so they are able to live their best lives.”