Mount Sinai South Nassau Earns Top Marks For Pancreatitis Care

OCEANSIDE, NY — Mount Sinai South Nassau earned a feather in its caregiving cap this week, as the National Pancreas Foundation named it an adult pancreatitis center of excellence.

The center of excellence designation is given out based on the results of an audit and review of a facility’s pancreatitis treatment and care, specifically how the facility approaches a patient’s outcomes after treatment. Specifically, the Pancreas Foundation uses criteria developed by pancreatic disease clinicians and patient advocates with expertise in gastroenterology, pancreatic surgery, interventional radiology, pain management, psychosocial support and more.

Already on the list as a Pancreatic Cancer Center of Excellence, Mount Sinai South Nassau was one of just three hospitals in New York to be named a center of excellence in both pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

For Mount Sinai South Nassau officials, the award is a recognition of ongoing efforts.

“We are committed to continuously improving quality and providing compassionate, patient-centered care,” Interim President Joshua Kugler said. “That commitment combined with teamwork and collaboration, helps us deliver outstanding care and achieve the best possible outcomes for our patients.”

According to hospital officials, an important part of the pancreatitis care is an individualized approach, deploying cutting-edge technology to minimize the invasiveness while coordinating care across departments for things like pancreatic cancer, complex benign tumors, malignant tumors, and other liver, gallbladder, bile duct and pancreas conditions

According to Dr. Ganesh Gunasekaran, Chief of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery Services at Mount Sinai South Nassau, this coordinated approach and the collaboration it requires is exactly why the hospital has received this distinction.

Gunasekaran has performed more than 1,000 hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeries during his career, hospital officials said. In cases where it is necessary to go to the operating room, Mount Sinai South Nassau officials said they’re often able to treat tumors that might’ve been deemed inoperable elsewhere, in large part thanks to their approach.

“The designation reflects our commitment to working together across specialties to provide every patient with the highest standard of care and access to the treatments they need and deserve,” Gunasekaran said. “Our patients are at the center of everything we do at Mount Sinai South Nassau.”