Along with the Joint Commission certification came a substantial investment in hospital resources. In the two years since we earned our CSC designation, the program has enjoyed spectacular growth and development. Highlights include: 

• Expansion of the stroke unit from four to 15 beds, all with improved monitoring
• Addition of an entire additional hospital floor to the original neuroscience footprint 
• Additional physicians and mid-levels to establish a new neuroscience inpatient service with 18 physician assistants, three new neurohospitalists, two critical care hospitalists and three nurse practitioners
• Refurbishment and expansion of the neuroangiography suite, which increased from one to two tables working simultaneously
• Adoption of HIPAA-compliant communication software and radiology software to permit rapid communication and review of brain imaging for tPA and thrombectomy treatment and bed assignments
• Addition of an entire hospital floor to the original neuroscience footprint 

The clinical care team at Montefiore’s CSC includes eight vascular neurologists, three interventional neuroradiologists, two vascular neurosurgeons, two stroke fellows, one neurointerventional fellow and three stroke nurse practitioners. In addition, there are three neurocritical care physicians dedicated to staffing our neuroscience intensive care unit.

Montefiore’s CSC has been growing 10 to 20 percent per year for the last decade, and last year was no exception. The center discharged 1,437 patients in 2021, an increase over 2020 despite a massive local and national drop in stroke admissions due to COVID-19. Disease-modifying treatment with the “clotbuster” tPA, mechanical thrombectomy or both were performed on 170 patients. Transfers of complex stroke patients have been increasing annually for the past decade. In 2021, we transferred and treated 320 patients to our CSC from various parts of New York City, Westchester County and Orange County, New York.

An NIH StrokeNet Regional Coordinating Center, Montefiore Einstein’s CSC participates in several NIH-funded stroke clinical trials and registries, in addition to industry-funded trials and registries. In 2020, the vascular neurology and neurological surgery faculty published 30 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including many describing the novel aspects of stroke associated with COVID-19. 

We have also initiated an innovative Neurointerventional Fellowship Program jointly sponsored by Montefiore’s Departments of Neurology, Neurological Surgery and Radiology. This will allow us to train experts in this emerging discipline among these participating departments.

Vascular Neurology: Daniel L. Labovitz, MD; Daniel Antoniello, MD; Natalie Cheng, MD; Charles Esenwa, MD; Kathryn Kirchoff, MD; Peter Mabie, MD; Oleg Otlivanchik, MD PhD; Ainie Soetanto, MD

Vascular Neurosurgery: David J. Altschul, MD; Neil Haranhalli, MD 

Interventional Neuroradiology:  Allan L. Brook, MD; Seon-Kyu Lee, MD PhD; Richard L. Zampolin, MD