VALHALLA, N.Y. (October 10, 2023) - Westchester Medical Center’s status as the premier destination in Westchester County and the Hudson Valley for lung cancer detection and therapy was solidified recently with the naming of Westchester Medical Center as a Center of Excellence by GO2 for Lung Cancer (GO2), a national and recognized organization that supports lung cancer care and research.
GO2 bestowed Westchester Medical Center with Center of Excellence designation for the hospital’s “ongoing commitment” to providing the Westchester County and Hudson Valley communities with “patient-centered, evidence-based lung cancer screening.”
According to GO2, an estimated 237,000 Americans are diagnosed with lung cancer annually, most of which are first diagnosed with the disease in its advanced stages. As a result, lung cancer has long been a leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S.
 |
| Lisa Paul, MD, Gregory Peterson, MD, and Vita Balista, NP, of the Lung Cancer Screening |
"Becoming a Lung Cancer Screening Center of Excellence is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the early detection of and relentless pursuit of a world without lung cancer. This designation places us at the forefront of the battle, offering hope to those in need." said Dipak Chandy, MD, Section Co-Chief of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Westchester Medical Center.
Precise, Early Detection is Critical
By screening individuals at an elevated risk for lung cancer using low dose computed tomography (CT), GO2 says this disease can now be found early, when it is most treatable.
Westchester Medical Center conducts lung cancer screenings with today’s most modern CT technologies that help detect lung cancer at its earliest stages, when the cancer can be removed completely. The Westchester Medical Center lung cancer screening program pairs high quality imaging technologies with a subspecialty-trained and board-certified thoracic radiologist, pulmonologists, oncologists, radiation oncologist and thoracic surgeons based, all within the same program.
“We are proud to have Westchester Medical Center join the community of GO2 for Lung Cancer Centers of Excellence that is national in scope and local in impact,” said GO2 Chief Healthcare Delivery Officer, Joelle Fathi. “Across the U.S., most people at risk for or living with lung cancer are served by a local community hospital near their home. Through the GO2 Center of Excellence Network of community hospitals, clinics, and academic and VA medical centers, we are fostering and supporting essential knowledge sharing and collaboration that brings national and global advancements in early detection, treatment and care close to home.”
According to GO2, its designated Centers of Excellence in lung cancer screening are “committed to the principles of patient-centered communication and decision making across the entire care pathway. “They implement screening in accordance with current evidence and clinical guidelines developed by professional bodies such as the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), and they coordinate patient follow-up, diagnostics, and transition to treatment through a multidisciplinary clinical process.”
About Westchester Medical Center Health Network
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, with nine hospitals on seven campuses spanning 6,200 square miles of the Hudson Valley. WMCHealth employs more than 13,000 people and has nearly 3,000 attending physicians. The Network has Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 adult and pediatric trauma centers, the region’s only acute care children’s hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals, dozens of specialized institutes and centers, Comprehensive and Primary Stroke Centers, skilled nursing, assisted living facilities, home-care services and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State. Today, WMCHealth is the pre-eminent provider of integrated health care in the Hudson Valley. For more information about WMCHealth, visit WMCHealth.org or follow WMCHealth on Facebook.com/WMCHealthor Instagram.com/WMCHealth.
ABOUT GO2 FOR LUNG CANCER
GO2 for Lung Cancer relentlessly confronts lung cancer on every front, every day, for everyone. Founded by patients and survivors, GO2 is dedicated to increasing survival for those at risk, diagnosed and living with lung cancer. For more information visit go2.org, like us on Facebook/Instagram (@GO2forLungCancer) and follow us on Twitter (@go2forlungcancr) and LinkedIn(@go2forlungcancer).
###