Lutheran Medical Center held a dedication ceremony for its state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization suite (cath lab), the May Ellen and Gerald Ritter Diagnostic Cardiology Center. With heart related hospitalizations and death rates at alarming levels, the cardiac suite will allow Lutheran experts to detect heart disease and to recommend life-saving treatment options for Brooklyn’s high risk patients.
With cardiac issues so prevalent in our communities, it was an easy decision to support the construction of the cardiac suite at Lutheran.
Recognizing the need for a new cath lab in Brooklyn, the initiative to bring the service to Lutheran Medical Center received broad support among community-based organizations and New York State and Brooklyn elected officials. Among the area’s most passionate supporters was the May Ellen and Gerald Ritter Foundation and their donation of $1 million. The foundation, led by Vincent Rohan, is a private non-operating foundation established to provide funding for public charities in the Greater New York area as well as those out-of-state.
“We are proud to support Lutheran Medical Center in their quest to provide first rate cardiac diagnostics to southwest Brooklyn communities,” said Vincent Rohan, president of the May Ellen and Gerald Ritter Foundation. “With cardiac issues so prevalent in our communities, it was an easy decision to support the construction of the cardiac suite at Lutheran. Even if only one life is saved, the cost is well worth it.”
According to the 2006 N.Y.C. Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s community health profile, the heart disease death rate is higher in southwest Brooklyn (Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, and Dyker Heights) than anywhere else in the city. In Sunset Park, the heart disease hospitalization rate is slightly higher than in N.Y.C. overall. Cardiac catheterization services will significantly help to reduce these statistics.
“Cardiac catheterization is a specialized diagnostic procedure used to evaluate the structure and function of the heart,” said Robert Zaloom, M.D., Lutheran Medical Center cardiologist and director of the May Ellen and Gerald Ritter Diagnostic Cardiology Center. During catheterization, a thin flexible tube (catheter) is guided through blood vessels to the heart with little or no discomfort to the patient. “The procedure produces extremely high quality images, or angiograms, of the heart and coronary arteries allowing cardiologists to clearly identify lesions, blockages, clots and other life-threatening abnormalities,” he added.
Additionally, Lutheran Medical Center coordinates cardiovascular efforts closely with Lenox Hill Hospital, home to the Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute of New York - among the leading cardiovascular care programs in the nation. Both hospitals formed a partnership specifically to develop an integrated cardiovascular services program located in Brooklyn.
Source: Lutheran Family Health Center
