The Mount Sinai Hospital officially opened its 20,700-square-foot Lauder Family Cardiovascular Ambulatory Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception on Wednesday, May 6, before an audience of jubilant supporters. The expansive Center, which will allow Mount Sinai physicians to treat nearly 300 heart and vascular outpatients a day, was established with generous support from Ronald S. Lauder and Leonard A. Lauder and their families in honor of Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, the Director of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital.
“I have the deepest gratitude for the Lauders for their confidence in Mount Sinai Heart and especially for their vision,” said Dr. Fuster. “The future of health care is the ambulatory setting as we move from treating disease to a focus on promoting health.” Dr. Fuster also thanked Mitzi and Warren Eisenberg, who donated the Center’s large patient reception area in their name.
Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System, told the donors, “Your philanthropy makes transformative cardiovascular care possible at this Center. We are grateful you have shared your generosity with us.”
Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System, said, “We are committed to providing the best cardiovascular care, today and tomorrow. Thank you for making this a reality.”
Joseph M. Sweeny, MD, has been named Medical Director of the Center, and Haydee Garcia, NP, is Nursing Director. The team will include more than 40 cardiologists and vascular physicians, 18 fellows, and more than 60 nursing, clinical, and administrative support staff, among them a nutritionist, social worker, and four patient navigators. The Center, located in the Guggenheim Pavilion lobby, offers specialized patient care in cardiovascular disease prevention, general cardiology, cardiac imaging, cardiac rehabilitation, heart failure and transplantation care, vascular medicine, and vascular surgery.
The Center has 22 exam rooms, five vascular ultrasound rooms, and a patient library. Colorful photographs of nature, taken by the late Evelyn H. Lauder and donated by the Lauder family, adorn the walls.
Said Ronald S. Lauder: “Dr. Fuster is someone special, and Mount Sinai Heart will continue to be a forerunner in cardiovascular care.” Leonard A. Lauder added, “There is no one in this city or nation who cares more about his patients than Dr. Fuster. We have witnessed this firsthand. Our support of this Center is a thank you to Mount Sinai.”
To learn more, visit mountsinai.org/laudercenter.