Huntington Hospital Gets Stroke, Cancer Certifications

by Priya Persaud

Huntington Hospital has received new certifications in stroke and cancer care, becoming the first hospital in the Northwell Health system to earn this high recognition. The hospital was also among 50 hospitals nationwide to be recognized to be in the National Accreditted Program for Rectal Cancer.

“These are two significant accreditations," stated Nick Fitterman, the Executive Director of Huntington Hospital. "The review leading to these accreditations looked at measures of care on the floor.”

The certifications were made by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, and are approved for the next two years, until July 2024. The study and audit of Huntington Hospital was conducted by a medical and multidisciplinary team headed by Dr. Shirley Shih. The study looked at twenty-two areas of care, including surgery, pathology, radiology, medical oncology, and radiation medicine.

Fitterman noted that the stroke accreditation “indicates to ambulance crews that you should bring the patients to a stroke center.”Since time is critical, patients could be transported to Huntington Hospital first, to be stabilized if they have a stroke. Then, they could be brought to another facility for more specialized stroke treatment if necessary.

"What this says to me is, if you have a stroke in Huntington, you have a stroke center in your backyard.” added Fitterman.

Huntington Hospital was also awarded the gold seal of approval and became a primary New York State Stroke Center.