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NEW YORK — The Center for Acute Respiratory Failure and Cardiac ECMO Program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Pediatric ECMO Program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital have been designated a Platinum Level Center of Excellence for the Excellence in Life Support Award from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO, an international non-profit consortium dedicated to the development of novel therapies for people with organ failure). Worldwide, only five extracorporeal life support (ECLS) centers were awarded platinum status and this is the first time this status was awarded.

The ELSO Excellence in Life Support Award recognizes ECLS programs that provide exceptional care in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a life-support system for people with acute failure of the heart and lungs. The application process required a detailed description of the program volume, staff structure, training program, patient support programs, among other areas,  that corresponded with a point rating for each question. The program needed to achieve a pre-specified number of points to be designated at the Platinum level.   

“This is a great honor, and we are proud to be one of the few centers in the world to receive platinum level accreditation,” said Dr. Matthew Bacchetta, co-director of the Center for Acute Respiratory Failure and director of the Adult ECMO Program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “This recognition is a direct result of the commitment our team puts forth each and every day, to ensure our patients receive the best possible care.”

“We’re one of the largest ECMO programs in the world for adult respiratory failure,” said Dr. Daniel Brodie, co-director of the Center for Acute Respiratory Failure and director of the Medical ECMO Program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “Our team strives each day to deliver the very best treatment to every patient in need.”

The ELSO Award of Excellence is recognized by the U.S. News and World Report – which ranked NewYork-Presbyterian as New York’s No. 1 hospital and No. 6 in the nation – as one criterion for top institutions. The Platinum level signifies that the hospital’s ECMO program meets the highest standards and of centers worldwide.

“We are honored to receive this recognition. It would not have been possible without our exceptional ICU, cardiology and surgical teams, which have championed through with dedication and hard work,” said Dr. William Middlesworth, director of the Pediatric ECMO Program and residency program director of the Pediatric Surgical Fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. “This designation is evidence of our commitment to the highest quality, state-of-the-art patient care.”

The Center for Acute Respiratory Failure provides state-of-the-art care to adult patients through specialized therapies and the most advanced forms of mechanical ventilation. At the Center, adult patients are treated for a broad range of conditions that have progressed to respiratory failure, including acute respiratory distress syndrome, pneumonia, trauma, pulmonary embolism, and flare-ups of chronic lung diseases such as asthma, emphysema or cystic fibrosis.

The Pediatric ECMO Program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital requires resources and a dedicated expertise available only at specialized academic pediatric centers. It is the busiest and most well-established facility in the New York City area, and provides care to critically ill newborns with diseases like Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, Meconium aspiration, and complex congenital heart disease.  The Pediatric ECMO program also supports the Pediatric Heart transplant program, one of the nation’s busiest.

NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital

NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, located in New York City, offers the best available care in every area of pediatrics — including the most complex neonatal and critical care, and all areas of pediatric subspecialties — in a family-friendly and technologically advanced setting. Building a reputation for more than a century as one of the nation’s premier children’s hospitals, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital is affiliated with the Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and is Manhattan’s only hospital dedicated solely to the care of children and one of the largest providers of children’s health services in the tri-state area with a long-standing commitment to its community. It is also a major international referral center, meeting the special needs of children from infancy through adolescence worldwide. NewYork-Presbyterian also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Westchester Division, NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital. The Hospital is also closely affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian/Lawrence Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area, according to U.S. News & World Report, and consistently named to the magazine’s Honor Roll of best hospitals in the nation. For more information, visit www.nyp.org.

NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center

NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, located in New York City, is one of the leading academic medical centers in the world, comprising the teaching hospital NewYork-Presbyterian and its academic partner, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. NewYork-Presbyterian provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education and community service. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division, NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital. The hospital is also closely affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian/Lawrence Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area, according to U.S. News & World Report, and consistently named to the magazine’s Honor Roll of best hospitals in the nation. For more information, visit www.nyp.org.