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Stony Brook Medicine

From left to right: Daniel Lozeau, Galo Del Heirro, Alexander Dagum, Marissa Ayasse, Richard J Scriven. Photo from SBU

By David Luces

For one Ecuadorian native, attending a lecture by Stony Brook Medicine doctors changed his life.

Galo Del Hierro, 44, who works for the Charles Darwin Foundation in the Galapagos, was attending a lecture given by the Stony Brook Medicine team about skin cancer screenings and prevention in the archipelago. After the lecture, Del Hierro approached Alexander Dagum, a reconstructive plastic surgeon at Stony Brook, and showed him a lesion he had on his right eyelid that was not going away and had grown bigger in the last couple of years.

“He came up to me and said, ‘I’ve had this spot that has gotten larger for some time,’” Dagum said. “I looked at it and thought it was pretty suspicious and told him he should see one of our dermatologists.”

The team’s trip in March was part of a mission through Blanca’s House, a Long Island non-profit organization that works to bring much-needed, quality medical care to countries and communities throughout Latin America. The seven-person team from Stony Brook planned on providing screenings and other care for the local community. As they further examined Del Hierro, they realized they might have to bring him 3,051 miles away to Stony Brook for care.

Dr. Daniel Lozeau, a dermatologist and clinical assistant professor at Stony Brook Medicine, took a look at Del Hierro’s lesion and determined that they needed to do a biopsy. After testing was done, Del Hierro was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma.

Lozeau said given the location of the melanoma it would make it difficult to remove.

“On the eyelid you have less room to work with,” he said. “It not like when it’s on someone’s back, where we have a lot more real estate [to work with].”

Dagum said if people in the Galapagos had anything serious, they would have to go over to the mainland in Ecuador, which is quite far. Initially, he tried to find a doctor on the mainland to perform the surgery for Del Hierro instead of bringing him to Stony Brook as it was more convenient for Del Hierro, but he couldn’t find anyone that could do it.

Lozeau said the cancer Del Hierro had is aggressive, and he could have lost his eye and his life.

Dagum then got clearance to perform the surgery as a teaching case at Stony Brook Medicine and with help from the Darwin Foundation and Blanca’s House, Del Hierro was able to come to Stony Brook for the surgery in May.

The Stony Brook plastic surgeon said the procedure takes several days and requires using skin grafts to reconstruct and support the lower eyelid.

“It was important they we got [the melanoma] out as quickly as possible,” Dagum said.

Dagum and colleagues removed the lesion in full around his eyelids, and reconstructed skin around the eyelid so Del Hierro could see properly and blink normally. He had a second procedure to adjust the eyelid.

The Ecuadorian native said through a translator that he was grateful and impressed with the care he received at Stony Brook.

Del Hierro said that he had first noticed the spot on his eyelid when he was 18 years old.

“It was a tiny little dot, and I didn’t really think much of it, I thought it was just a mole,” he said.

He admitted when he first got his diagnosis, he was worried for himself and his family, but trusted Dagum and the team.

With the procedures complete, Dagum said they are waiting for the swelling to go down and everything should settle in and heal up in the next couple of months.

Dagum expects Del Hierro to live normally; however, he recommends he should continue to get screened and have the eyelid area examined periodically.

Del Hierro’s case and the team’s experiences bring to light the importance of skin cancer screening and skin protection, especially during the summer season.

Lozeau said the Academy of Dermatology recommends sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher.

“Most important thing is to constantly re-apply frequently every couple of hours,” he said. “Hats are good to wear and make sure you have eye protection.”

The dermatologist said when it comes to skin cancer, if one notices a spot that hasn’t gone away or has grown in size, he or she should get it checked out. Also, he mentioned spots that constantly bleed or scab over.

“Galo was really fortunate. He was at the right place at the right time,” Lozeau said.

An aerial view of Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine

On July 1, Stony Brook Medicine announced the newest member of the Stony Brook University Hospital health care system — Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport.

The 90-bed, acute care hospital has been affiliated with Stony Brook since 2006, and in 2015, talks began between the two hospitals to form a partnership. The Greenport campus will now be referred to as Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital.

“This really has been a win-win for both the hospital and for the people on the South Fork so let’s do it on the North Fork.”

— Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky

Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky, senior vice president of health sciences and dean of the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, said the partnership will allow SBELIH to work collaboratively with Stony Brook University Hospital and Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, which joined the health care system in 2017.

While Stony Brook Medicine takes on the responsibility of operating the campus when it comes to things such as finances and quality responsibility, Kaushansky said the health care system doesn’t own the other hospitals but leases the buildings from the owners, and staff members are not state employees and continue with the same salaries and unions as before.

He said the partnership with Southampton has been a successful one, and the same is expected with SBELIH.

“This really has been a win-win for both the hospital and for the people on the South Fork so let’s do it on the North Fork,” Kaushansky said.

Stony Brook expects to help grow the Greenport hospital’s staff. Residents of the North Fork, which SBELIH serves along with Shelter Island, now can receive additional resources, particularly specialized outpatient services. Kaushansky said another plus is the use of a telehealth program, which allows doctors and patients on the North Fork direct access to Stony Brook Medicine specialists.

Stony Brook also has its eyes on Long Island Community Hospital in East Patchogue, which Kaushansky said they are in talks with, to see if it makes sense to create a similar affiliation with the facility.

“We would anticipate that behavioral medicine will remain the core service at Eastern Long Island Hospital.”

— Dr. Margaret McGovern

“[It would be] another opportunity for us to grow our health care system, which will give us more bandwidth, give us more opportunity to keep patients as close to home as possible,” he said. “But when it comes time to need more advanced facilities, they have a seamless transition into Stony Brook Hospital.”

Dr. Margaret McGovern, vice president for health system clinical programs and strategy at Stony Brook Medicine, said the affiliation is another step on the path of the health care system expanding.

She and Kaushansky said the behavioral health programs of Eastern Long Island, which include medical-surgical services, critical care, psychiatry and drug and alcohol detoxification and rehabilitation services, are strong.

“We would anticipate that behavioral medicine will remain the core service at Eastern Long Island Hospital,” McGovern said.

Kaushansky added that with limited beds at the university hospital for behavioral health patients, it will be a benefit to be able to utilize SBELIH.

Paul Connor, chief administrative officer of SBELIH, said a psychiatric residency started at the Greenport campus July 1 as a part of Stony Brook Medicine’s academic mission. The CAO said training physicians and health care professionals is important for future staffing needs, as a high percentage of physicians are more apt to remain where they spent their residency.

“This was really an effort to preserve the mission of Eastern Long Island Hospital and ultimately to create more local health care options.”

— Paul Connor

Connor said the hospital opened in 1905 and was the first hospital in Suffolk County and the second one on Long Island.

“This was really an effort to preserve the mission of Eastern Long Island Hospital and ultimately to create more local health care options,” he said.

The hospital’s board will be part of a joint advisory committee with Stony Brook Medicine, he said, and will meet on a regular basis to discuss topics such as finances, planning and safety.

“They’re going to be in a position to influence the operation of the hospital as representatives from the community,” he said.

Connor said the ELIH Foundation will continue to exist and be independent of Stony Brook, which means any funds raised will go toward the SBELIH campus.

McGovern said while Stony Brook is a resource for other hospitals entering the system, providing services such as a burn unit,  psychiatric emergency department and kidney transplant program, many patients prefer to be treated close to home.

“A lot of care is appropriate in a community hospital setting, so that’s the model we’re going with and complementing it with a robust outpatient ambulatory platform,” she said.

In addition to its strong behavioral health programs, SBELIH is also one of two hospitals on Long Island providing skin cancer screenings to all inpatients through its Mollie Biggane Melanoma Foundation.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart and Executive Steve Bellone attend a June 14 press conference to announce a partnership between SCPD and Stony Brook Medicine to host Mobile Mammography Van events in the county. Photo from Suffolk County Police Department

Stony Brook Medicine and the Suffolk County Police Department are joining forces to provide proactive health services to residents.

“By partnering with Stony Brook Medicine to bring their Mobile Mammography Van to a number of different locations all across the county this summer, we are making it easier than ever for working women to get checked.”

— Steve Bellone

Officials announced June 14 that the police department and Stony Brook Medicine’s Mobile Mammography Van will host events this summer at various county locations. The events will provide convenient access to mammography examinations for SCPD employees as well as the public.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart, who was previously diagnosed with breast cancer, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D), members of the Suffolk County Police Department and Stony Brook’s Mobile Mammography Program coordinator Dr. Patrick Dineen were on hand for the announcement.

“Commissioner Hart should serve as an inspiration to us all, using her own personal experience with breast cancer to raise awareness about the power of early detection, which has saved countless lives,” Bellone said. “By partnering with Stony Brook Medicine to bring their Mobile Mammography Van to a number of different locations all across the county this summer, we are making it easier than ever for working women to get checked.”

Officers from the Community Relations Bureau, Canine and Aviation Sections will be on hand to interact with children while their parents are being screened, according to county officials. Activities will include demonstrations, games and giveaways.

Hart said her first mammogram detected cancer in its earliest stages, and she hoped sharing her story would inspire others to be screened.

“Our mission includes fighting crime and one of the most effective ways to continue to drive down crime is to ensure we are finding new ways to partner with all our communities,” she said. “I believe our partnership with Stony Brook Medicine will serve as a great outreach to members of the community.”

Dineen said Stony Brook Medicine was thrilled about the collaboration.

“Our mission includes fighting crime and one of the most effective ways to continue to drive down crime is to ensure we are finding new ways to partner with all our communities.”

— Geraldine Hart

“The partnership between Stony Brook Medicine and the SCPD strengthens the efforts to ensure that all women from all socioeconomic backgrounds have easier access to screenings since we visit various locations such as businesses, school districts, libraries and churches throughout Long Island,” he said. “Furthermore, not only is the SCPD dedicated to helping our community members, they believe in this program so much that we have scheduled screening events at SCPD headquarters and the 4th Precinct so that staff members are also staying on top of their health.”

Eligible residents can visit the van for screenings at the following locations:

• Diamond in the Pines, 1844 Route 112, Coram — June 29 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

• St. Hugh of Lincoln R.C. Church, 21 E. 9th St., Huntington Station — July 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• St. Anne’s R.C. Church, 88 2nd Ave., Brentwood — July 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• SCPD 4th Precinct, 727 Route 454, Hauppauge — July 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

According to Stony Brook’s website, the Mobile Mammography Van team provides services to women on Long Island, age 40 and older, who have not had a mammogram in the last year and are not pregnant. No prescription is needed. Women seeking mammograms at the mobile events should not have implants or breast issues, such as a lump or nipple discharge, and never been diagnosed with breast cancer. They should also have had an office visit with a gynecologist, primary care physician or internist within the past year who is willing to accept the results of the screening. Individuals who do not have health insurance will be processed through the Cancer Services Program of New York, if eligible. On the day of the  mammogram, women should not wear deodorant, perfume, powders, lotions or creams on the breast area.

The van travels Suffolk and Nassau counties all year round and features a registration area, waiting room, private changing and exam space, 3-D equipment and an all-female medical staff.

For more information, call 1-833-MY-MAMMO or Dineen’s office at 631-432-0267.

Dr. Frank S. Darras presents a signed baseball from the Stony Brook Medicine kidney transplant program to the 1969 World Champion Miracle Mets player Edward Kranepool. Photo from Stony Brook University

Ed Kranepool has proven once again that miracles do happen, especially when one is part of a team.

The former baseball player, who was a member of the Miracle Mets in 1969, received a new kidney last week at Stony Brook University Hospital thanks to a kidney paired exchange. Kranepool said before the transplant he had two teams — his family, and the Mets organization.

Dr. Frank S. Darras, medical director of Transplantation Services, back row left, and Dr. Wayne Waltzer, director of Kidney Transplantation Program, back row right, discuss four life-changing kidney swap surgeries in one day May 10. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine

“Now I have an extended team,” he said. “I have our donors here today who certainly without them this program doesn’t exist, and you have to be forever grateful to them.”

Kranepool, 74, received a kidney from Deborah Barbieri, who was hoping to donate a kidney to her husband, but it turned out she wasn’t a match for him due to their different blood types. However, it turned out she was a match with Kranepool. Her husband Al Barbieri received a kidney the same day donated from Port Authority police officer Brian Cooney.

At a May 10 press conference at the hospital, three days after Kranepool, the Barbieris and Cooney underwent their procedures, they joined Dr. Frank Darras, medical director of Transplantation Services, and Dr. Wayne Waltzer, director of Kidney Transplantation Program, to discuss their experiences.

Darras said many with a need for a new kidney are on a waiting list for months or even years. More than 113,000 Americans are waiting for a transplant of some kind, and 80,000 are waiting for a kidney transplant. Out of those 80,000, 8,000 of them live in New York state.

He said many times a family member or friend wants to help a patient, but their blood types don’t match, like in the case of the Barbieris, or the potential donor has health problems of their own. Because of those long odds, he called the donors heroes.

“They do this to help somebody else,” Darras said.

He said Cooney’s altruistic call to the program set the paired exchange chain in motion.

“With that came the reality that we can do a paired exchange, because when he was tested the highest person of his blood type, blood type A, was Mr. Barbieri,” Darras said. “So, then we looked at his wife, who had been a willing donor for a couple of months as blood type AB, which is the most uncommon blood type, and we ran the AB blood list, and Mr. Kranepool was the highest on the AB list with the longest waiting time. So that’s what triggered us to get to this point today.”

The doctor said after the surgery, the remaining kidney of Cooney and Deborah Barbieri would grow and compensate to do 75-80 percent of the work, and there is no significant decrease in life expectancy or increase in kidney failure. He said patients have lived entire lives with a sole kidney, and those who receive one before undergoing dialysis treatments tend to do better. Kranepool was not at the point where he needed dialysis, and Darras said it would have been difficult for him due to high blood pressure and diabetes. A patient on dialysis can gain another five to seven years, while one who receives a new kidney can live another 15 years or more.

Waltzer added there is a discrepancy between those who need a kidney and those who donate. In 2018 there were only 1,619 living donor transplants in the state of New York and 1,047 deceased organ donors. He said the national visibility that Kranepool has given the cause could benefit everyone in need of an organ.

Cooney, 45, a former NYPD officer, said when he responded to Ground Zero after the World Trade Center terrorist attacks Sept. 11, 2001, he witnessed devastation and, in the years that followed, more tragedy as first responders died from 9/11-related diseases. He said he realized how fortunate he is.

“I’d have a blessed life and a blessed career,” Cooney said. “I have very few problems to speak of and nothing to complain about.”

“It’s very difficult to see when you sit there with people who are next to you one day in the chair, and the next day they’re not there.”

— Al Barbieri

It was a few months ago he placed a call to the transplant center, and he said a few days after a visit to the hospital for a general checkup and consultation, he received the call that he was a match for someone.

“Sure enough I was able to set a chain in motion,” he said.

Al Barbieri, a volunteer firefighter in Glenwood Landing since 1982, said he was grateful for all the help in him getting his new kidney. He was placed on dialysis in 2016, four hours at a time, and he has seen many fellow patients lose their battles against kidney disease.

“It’s very difficult to see when you sit there with people who are next to you one day in the chair, and the next day they’re not there,” he said.

At the brink of crying, the organ recipient said he felt fortunate that he could now see his children graduate and be able to go to their weddings and meet his future grandchildren one day.

“Police officers are here in the world today, so firefighters can have heroes too,” he said.

Deborah Barbieri said that dialysis had made it difficult for the couple to go places, especially on vacation, something both of them are looking forward to doing once again.

“I decided to take a shot and go on the list, and it’s the best thing I ever did,” she said.

Kranepool said he felt fortunate to have Deborah Barbieri and Cooney step forward, and he wants to see the same happen for others by continuing to raise awareness. Last year, the former Mets player held press conferences around Long Island to urge residents to sign organ donation forms, and he said he plans to continue spreading the word about the importance of organ donations.

“You get that call,” he said. “I mean, they saved your life.”

This summer, Kranepool said he’s looking forward to spending time in the Hamptons with his wife, and also celebrating in the 50th anniversary of the Miracle Mets in June.

On the day he received the call that there was a donor for him, Kranepool said he had just finished telling his wife to stay positive about his situation. Then 10 minutes later the phone rang.

“It was like magic,” he said. “Something really happened right there.”

Dr. David Fiorella with patient Danielle Santilli who received a new treatment for aneurysms. Photo by Greg Filiano

By Daniel Dunaief

[email protected]

Danielle Santilli grappled with numerous discomforts, from headaches to nausea to dizziness, especially when she traveled in a car or stood up quickly. After a series of tests, however, she learned she had a wide-necked bifurcation aneurysm, which is one of the more common types of aneurysms.

A diagnosis that has potentially severe consequences, an aneurysm is an area in a blood vessel that grows like a balloon. If it ruptures, it can cause dangerous bleeding.

Santilli became a patient of Stony Brook Medicine’s interventional radiologist and professor of neurological surgery and radiology David Fiorella. Santilli was thrilled with the timing, as Fiorella was a co-principal investigator on a recently completed U.S. Food and Drug Administration study for a minimally invasive surgical technique that involves implanting a Woven EndoBridge or WEB.

“I feel very fortunate,” Santilli said of the opportunity to be one of the first to receive the treatment.

The FDA approved the use of the WEB in January. European doctors have used it effectively since 2011.

The WEB is a spherical structure that’s braided out of fine-shaped memory filaments of metal called nitinol, which is a combination of nickel and titanium. The WEB behaves more like a rubber band than a paper clip and wants to return to its original shape. Doctors insert it into a microcatheter in the femoral artery near the groin. Once they release it in an aneurysm and stretch it out, the WEB expands into a spherical shape inside the blood vessel.

The body grows new tissue over the aneurysm neck along the metal mesh, which is akin to sealing off a well.

The alternative for people with this type of aneurysm can often involve more invasive, open-brained surgery, Fiorella said.

The procedure takes about 40 minutes and often requires a one-night hospital stay. Patients with a WEB procedure also require aspirin for a short period, compared with six months of a blood thinner and then aspirin for much longer periods for other surgical alternatives.

Fiorella explained that there were two types of aneurysms. An unruptured version typically doesn’t have any symptoms. Doctors usually discover these through a screening for other symptoms or because of a family history. Patients in this group sometimes receive scans for different and unrelated reasons.

Robert Walsh, a 66-year-old retiree and resident of South Jamesport, went to a doctor to check himself out after his younger sister died earlier this year from an aneurysm. Tests revealed that he, too, had an aneurysm.

A month after his sister died, Walsh had the WEB procedure.

Fiorella and his staff “are probably the best I’ve ever encountered,” Walsh said. “I’m impressed with him and his entire staff for everything they did, with follow-ups, calling in prescriptions, getting my pre-op ready. I have a lot of confidence in Dr. Fiorella.”

People with a ruptured aneurysm are dealing with bleeding into their brain. This typically causes symptoms like the worst headache people have ever had, vomiting or a loss of consciousness of rapid neurological deterioration.

The survival rate for people in these circumstances is lower and depends on whether they make it to the hospital.

The WEB is helpful for patients who have a ruptured aneurysm. Other techniques, such as stents, are not usable for patients under these conditions.

“A lot of other tools are off the table” with a ruptured aneurysm, but the WEB is “very effective,” Fiorella said.

Some potential patients with a wide-necked bifurcation may not be good candidates for a WEB because their aneurysm is too small or too large for the device.

Stony Brook has extensive experience with the WEB. Doctors who want to perform a similar procedure at other hospitals need extensive training from experienced physicians who can prepare them for the procedure.

Long Island residents should know they have a “major center right here that’s doing work that surpasses anything going on in Long Island or, in most cases, in the city” with endovascular surgery, Fiorella said.

Santilli feels the doctor “saved my life,” and is delighted that she “doesn’t have to worry about using a blood thinner.”

The procedure changed the way Santilli and her family live. They are making healthier lifestyle choices. She and her husband Frank are cutting back on smoking, and she is also buying fruit instead of sugary snacks for the house.

Santilli said she feels fortunate that Fiorella was able to perform the procedure.

“I feel like I got a second chance,” she said.

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The Ward Melville Heritage Organization hosted A “Taste” of Stony Brook Village … Ladies Night In! Feb. 26 at WMHO’s Educational & Cultural Center. Gloria Rocchio, president of WMHO, said the organization reached the event fundraising goal of $5,000 for breast cancer research at Stony Brook Medicine.

The night featured a fashion show celebrating clothing store Chico’s 25th anniversary in Stony Brook Village Center, which was the chain’s first one in New York.

The night also included music by Roberta Fabiano, food sampling, hair and virtual reality demonstrations, raffles, giveaways and raffle baskets. Members of Roseland School of Dance were on hand to teach attendees how to dance the Macarena and the cha-cha slide, too.

Rocchio said WMHO raised $45,000 during its Walk for Beauty at the Stony Brook Village Center Oct. 21. She said the organization plans to present a check for $50,000 to Stony Brook Medicine in the near future.

Dr. David Fiorella and Eric Niegelberg. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine

As American Heart Month kicks off in February, Stony Brook Medicine is finalizing plans to provide speedy help to stroke victims in Suffolk County.

“When a blood vessel supplying the brain is blocked, it is estimated that nearly two million brain cells are lost for each minute that passes, making stroke the most time sensitive diagnosis we have in medicine.”

— Dr. David Fiorella

The Stony Brook Cerebrovascular and Comprehensive Stroke Center and the Stony Brook Renaissance School of Medicine’s Department of Emergency Medicine will launch Long Island’s first mobile stroke unit program in March. The program will include specially equipped ambulances that will be strategically based along the length of the Long Island Expressway, taking calls within 10 miles of their bases.

The hope is to ensure response times of 20 minutes or less.

“When a blood vessel supplying the brain is blocked, it is estimated that nearly two million brain cells are lost for each minute that passes, making stroke the most time sensitive diagnosis we have in medicine,” said Dr. David Fiorella, director of the stroke center and professor of neurological surgery and radiology at the Renaissance School of Medicine. “The faster we can restore blood flow to the brain the more likely that the patient will have a full recovery.”

The units will be available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., which is the window of time when most stroke calls are received.

Eric Niegelberg, associate director of Operations for Emergency Services and Internal Medicine, said an evaluation was completed to choose what time frame the mobile units would be available.

“We evaluated 911 ambulance call volume by area in the county and combined that data with what we felt was a reasonable response distance and time.”

— Eric Niegelberg,

“We looked at actual data for five years and historically the highest percentage of stroke calls come in during that time frame,” he said, adding once the program begins Stony Brook Medicine will continue to evaluate data and modify the hours based upon current call volume.

While the first unit will be deployed at Exit 57 on the LIE sometime between mid-to-late March, the second will not be in use until April and will be set up at Exit 68.

“The locations were chosen based upon call volume,” Niegelberg said. “We evaluated 911 ambulance call volume by area in the county and combined that data with what we felt was a reasonable response distance and time. Based upon this analysis the two locations were chosen. We did want locations that would provide easy North-South and East-West access.”

The units will include an in-ambulance care team, telemedicine system that enables emergency physicians and neurologists to see the patient via audio/visual conferencing, CT scanner for a standard scan and CT scan angiogram, which allows doctors to check for bleeding in the brain immediately.

Robert Simpson, district manager of Medford Volunteer Ambulance, said the mobile stroke units would be valuable to emergency response workers.

“As an EMS provider, we are always looking for ways to enhance treatment to patients,” Simpson said. “I think that it will definitely be an asset to us, especially for patients with strokes. As they say, ‘Saving time, saves the brain.’ Minutes count when someone is having a stroke as far as being able to enhance their chances of survival.”

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States, killing about 140,000 Americans each year.

Stony Brook University Hospital. File photo

Most people only think about Lyme disease when taking a hike in a park, but for many doctors, the condition weighs heavily on their minds every day.

Dr. Benjamin Luft, director and principal investigator of Stony Brook WTC Wellness Program, is one of those doctors. He is currently working on two clinical studies examining the disease. One involves those who continue to present symptoms after being treated, and the other study involves Latinos on Long Island who work in the landscaping and agricultural fields.

In a recent phone interview, Luft said the clinical study involving Latinos is a straightforward one, where the aim is to help a population that has been underserved and understudied due to their work schedules. The other study is more involved.

After being bitten by a tick infected with a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi, many people with a bull’s eye rash or flulike symptoms may receive treatment and feel better; but there are those who will continue to suffer for a prolonged period, even years, with a variety of complaints like aches, pains and brain fogginess. Luft said at times there may be no clear signs of the disease in the body, but doctors may find evidence of it after thorough neuropsychological exams that can detect subtle abnormalities.

Dr. Benjamin Luft is one of the doctors at Stony Brook Medicine looking for answers when it comes to those who continue to suffer from Lyme disease after treatment. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine

“This study is really geared toward diagnosing and to find ways to be able to monitor the disease,” Luft said, adding in the future his hope is to conduct studies testing new ways to treat Lyme disease.

The doctor said it’s essential to receive a diagnosis because if Lyme disease is left untreated, it can lead to joint swelling, arthritis, neuropathies, meningitis or cardiac problems.

When Stony Brook University recently began making a more significant investment in its imagining facilities, Luft said he saw a chance to find an answer for those with chronic symptoms.

“I thought this is the opportunity to see what is going on in the brain of these patients with using X-ray techniques and radiological techniques which may give us some insight,” he said.

He said with cutting-edge neuroimaging studies researchers can look for evidence of inflammation in the brain which may be a reaction to the infection.

“That would be an important thing to do because it may give us another target for therapy,” Luft said. “A lot of the therapy that we now use is really just geared toward the organism itself, but it’s not really geared toward the body’s reaction to the organism which may also have to be treated in order to alleviate some of these symptoms.”

The doctor has studied Lyme disease for more than 30 years. When he arrived at SBU from Stanford University Hospital, he was involved in work with AIDs and age-related diseases, but he said at the university’s clinic in the 1980s many people complained of Lyme disease problems and there were no effective therapies at the time. Many of the first therapies and treatments used today were developed at SBU, he said, but there have always been people who haven’t responded well to those treatments.

“So that’s been something that’s been bothering me for many years as to why that is,” Luft said.

He said he will present initial data, which is promising, from the clinical imagining study at a conference in Barcelona, Spain, later this month and hopes to get more patients for the clinical study. Those who are interested can call 631-601-5615. Subjects must meet stringent criteria including not having any other disease, having serological evidence of Lyme disease and a clear history that they had the rash.

In addition to Luft’s studies, Dr. Christy Beneri, assistant professor of pediatrics at SBU, and her team are working on a pilot study to look at newer diagnostic tools to establish a better way to diagnose early Lyme disease.

“We also will be doing work on understanding tick epidemiology in our area and working with the local health department to understand potential new tick-borne pathogens,” Beneri said.

Stony Brook Lyme Disease Laboratory has been performing Lyme disease testing on clinical specimens since 1984. Both inpatients and outpatients can have a Lyme ELISA screening test and Western blots confirmatory test at Stony Brook Medicine. Almost 10,000 screenings were done in 2017 at the hospital, which has been actively working with state senators for funding for Lyme disease outreach and research, according to Beneri.

John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson. File photo from Mather Hospital

A historic change at a nearly 90-year-old Port Jefferson institution has been finalized.

John T. Mather Memorial Hospital will officially finalize an affiliation agreement with Northwell Health Dec. 21, according to a Mather board member, who asked not to be referred to by name. Leadership from Mather Hospital signed a letter of intent to join Northwell, New York’s largest health care provider, in August, though the sides had not yet finalized the terms of the agreement at that time. It is the first time in the hospital’s history it will be affiliating with a larger health system, and a signing ceremony is set to take place Thursday, Dec. 21, at 3 p.m. in a conference room at the hospital. The board member said he expects Northwell Health president and chief executive officer Michael Dowling as well as Mather board of directors chairman Ken Jacoppi to attend the signing.

Mather Hospital is set to join Northwell Healht. Photo from Huntington Hospital

“We’re very pleased Northwell has committed to making an investment in our community and bringing their extraordinary capabilities to our community,” the board member said. “They’ve committed to preserve our culture of patient safety.”

The board member said part of the agreement is that Mather’s board and CEO will remain in place through an initial period of five years, allowing the hospital to remain “largely self-governing” during that time with collaboration and cooperation from Northwell. The Mather board member did not specify the total length or any other specifics of the agreement. A spokesperson from Mather confirmed the ceremonial signing will take place Dec. 21 and that the agreement has been reached, but declined to confirm any details relating to the contract.

The board member summed up what the change might mean for hospital patients going forward.

“In the near term the experience should not change at all,” he said. “We happen to believe that’s a good experience, generally speaking. In the long term Northwell has greater capabilities than we do and we’ll gain those. They’re committed to supporting our residency program as well.”

In August, state Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) voiced opposition to the agreement, saying he would have preferred Mather affiliate with Stony Brook University Hospital.

“I don’t think it’s a good decision,” LaValle said at the time. “For 50 years-plus there’s been a culture in place if people needed tertiary care they would go from Mather to Stony Brook. Stony Brook will still be in place, will still offer services and people if they choose can go to Stony Brook.”

Mather Hospital vice president of public affairs Nancy Uzo said in August Stony Brook was considered an option for affiliation and offered an explanation by email.

“Our goal through this process is to ensure that our communities continue to have access to advanced, high-quality care and superior satisfaction close to home, and to serve the best interests of our medical staff and employees,” she said.

Dowling commented similarly about Mather Hospital’s reputation around the letter of intent signing in August, and as to why Northwell would be a good fit for Mather.

“Mather Hospital is known for patient-centric care both in the community and throughout the industry,” he said. “That deeply embedded sense of purpose is the type of quality we want to represent Northwell Health, along with an excellent staff of medical professionals and physicians. Together, Mather and Northwell will play a crucial partnership role expanding world-class care and innovative patient services to Suffolk County residents.”

A public relations representative from Northwell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This story was updated Dec. 19 to include a Mather spokesperson’s confirmation of the signing ceremony.

Above, Stony Brook Medicine’s Puerto Rico medical relief team. Photo from SBU

By Kenneth Kaushansky, M.D.

Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky

As the holidays arrive, our thoughts turn to giving — and giving back to those who need our help. Stony Brook Medicine’s Puerto Rico medical relief team did just that, spending two weeks on the devastated island to treat patients and give a much-needed break to health care workers there.

We got word, after Category 5 Hurricane Maria swept through, of the conditions in Puerto Rico. Pharmacies were in ruins. Patients with chronic illnesses who needed to see their primary care physicians could not get appointments. Health care professionals couldn’t tend to their own families, nor repair their damaged homes, because their services were needed around the clock.

Relief efforts for those in Puerto Rico took on many forms. In my role as chair of the Greater New York Hospital Association board of directors, I served as part of an organization that teamed up with the Healthcare Association of New York State to establish the New York Healthcare’s Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief Fund to assist hospitals, health care workers and their families in Puerto Rico. The fund is a vehicle for New York’s hospital community to show its support for frontline caregivers and their families who have suffered significant losses.

I’m proud how Stony Brook Medicine also responded to this human health crisis. As part of a 78-member relief team of personnel from hospitals around the region, Stony Brook organized a team of health care professionals that was deployed to Puerto Rico. They signed on to spend two weeks living and working 12-hour days in less-than-ideal conditions, with widespread shortages of food, water and electricity.

Our 23 care providers — three physicians, two nurse practitioners, nine nurses, four paramedics, four nursing assistants and one pharmacist — split up after arriving in Puerto Rico. Most were stationed in the city of Manatí, while the rest went to the city of Fajardo and then to the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort. They worked closely with military personnel, federal agencies and the people of Puerto Rico. They saw more than 2,000 patients and helped local health care workers get some rest and get back on their feet.

Our team returned home in November to cheers and hugs from their co-workers and loved ones who met them at Stony Brook University Hospital. Despite the hardships and long hours, they spoke of the deeply fulfilling experiences they had in Puerto Rico. Their trip embodied the reasons why people choose a career in health care in the first place — to be of service and to provide excellent care.

Stony Brook Medicine’s mission is to deliver world-class, compassionate care to patients and families. And sometimes that mission extends well beyond our own four walls. We are making a difference, not only here at home but in communities around the world.

All of us at Stony Brook Medicine are so extremely proud of our Puerto Rico relief team. The work they did was heroic, generous in the extreme and so worthwhile. Our thanks also go to their families and to their Stony Brook colleagues who stepped up to cover extra shifts while the team was away.

Having heard many of their experiences, I cannot say enough about the team members and their devotion. I know they have returned much better for the experience and are now safely back to continue their efforts to improve the health of our patients.

Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky serves as dean of the School of Medicine and senior vice president of Health Sciences at State University of New York at Stony Brook.