Zoe Rapti, right, Deputy Minister of Health of Greece, and George Dangas, MD, PhD
A senior health official of the Greek government visited Mount Sinai on December 7 to learn more about how Mount Sinai responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York and about Mount Sinai’s cardiovascular programs in Queens, where there is a large Greek-American population.
Greek Deputy Minister of Health Zoe Rapti visited The Mount Sinai Hospital and met with David Reich, MD, President, and others, including George Dangas, MD, PhD, an interventional cardiologist who is Director of Cardiovascular Innovation at The Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute and Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
“It was a great honor to meet the health minister and to share ideas and learn from one another. Mount Sinai has a long history serving the Greek community, and we look forward to further discussions and collaboration,” said Dr. Reich, who also serves as president of Mount Sinai Queens.
Dr. Dangas, who completed medical and postgraduate studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, said they discussed a number of issues, including the ways Mount Sinai Queens serves the Greek-American population and the tremendous response mounted against the pandemic. Ms. Rapti also had a chance to meet a patient from Chios Island—the fifth largest of the Greek islands—leaving the hospital and hear about the hospital’s highly specialized care.
They were joined by Stamatios Lerakis, MD, PhD, Director of Noninvasive Cardiology for Mount Sinai Heart, Director of Imaging for Structural and Valve Interventions for the Mount Sinai Health System, and Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), and Diagnostic, Molecular and Interventional Radiology. He also received his MD degree from the Medical School of Athens.
“We were very pleased to walk through the exact pathways of outpatient and inpatient care at Mount Sinai Heart with the minister and discuss how things have evolved over the past extraordinary years,” Dr. Dangas said.
Zoe Rapti, center, Deputy Minister of Health of Greece, with Stamatios Lerakis, MD, PhD, left, and George Dangas, MD, PhD