Expansion in Surgery at Upstate University Hospital Makes It a Healthcare Destination

There are seven clinical departments that offer surgery at Upstate University Hospital. Collectively, the hospital offers more surgeons, robotic instrumentation and specialty procedures than any other facility in Central New York, with the Department of Surgery providing the largest component.

“We’ve grown in almost every area,” says Robert Cooney, MD, a bariatric and trauma surgical specialist and Professor and Chair of Surgery at SUNY Upstate Medical University for 12 years. “When I started here, the department had a strong foundation, but needed to develop surgical expertise in several areas. Now we are committed as an institution to providing the most advanced care in the region.”

“Every one of our surgeons is fellowship-trained,” Dr. Cooney says of his department, which has 12 surgical divisions with many surgeons also cross-trained in more than one specialty. “This allows us to bring the most leading-edge care to all our patients.”

A Breadth of Surgical Specialties for Adults and Children

Of the departments offering surgery, ENT, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Urology, along with Surgery itself, also offer procedures for children.

“When I started, we had one pediatric surgeon in the department who was close to retirement,” Dr. Cooney says. “This year we just hired our fifth pediatric surgeon, and now we provide 24/7 pediatric surgical care for the entire region. We have built out the program in Golisano Children’s Hospital and developed an entire infrastructure for pediatric surgery.

“Our goal continues to be to meet the needs of the people in Central New York, so they don’t have to travel to Boston or New York City or somewhere else for care,” Dr. Cooney says.

Expanding Cancer Care

The past decade has seen the expansion of cancer surgical specialties at Upstate.

The surgeons who treat cancer see patients through the Upstate Cancer Center, a newer facility which provides disease-specific, multidisciplinary care to patients with different types of cancer.

Thomas VanderMeer, MD, FACS, Professor of Surgery at Upstate Medical University and Division Chief of Surgical Oncology, Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, says he joined the Upstate University Hospital team two years ago so he could practice in its state-of-the-art Cancer Center.

“The surgeons work with radiation oncologists, medical oncologists and a wonderful group of allied health professionals,” Dr. VanderMeer says. “Surgeons and physicians tend to lead these teams, but the contributions of our diverse team of nursing and specialists in integrative medicine, psychology, palliative care, nutrition, cancer genetics and social work are important to providing the comprehensive care that cancer patients need. This integration of resources and people dedicated to caring for patients with cancer is really unrivaled in the region.”

The Cancer Center’s multidisciplinary approach is key to ensuring patients receive the best care, with dedicated teams addressing specific cancer types and reviewing cases together.

“In terms of treatment, most people are going to need some combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation,” Dr. VanderMeer says. “Figuring out how to incorporate the best available treatments into our pathways of care, especially as a patient’s status changes, is something that requires constant attention from our team.”

Improved Outcomes for Organ Transplants

Kidney transplantation also has been an area of growth. In the past five years, the transplant program has increased positive outcomes for patients, with the 1,000th deceased donor transplant performed in late 2020 and more than 400 living donor kidney transplants to date.

The average time it takes to receive a kidney transplant in New York State is five years, but Upstate University Hospital has cut that time in half. The team has also launched a pancreas transplant program, and the hospital has the only approved pediatric kidney transplant program in Central New York.

Transplant Division Chief Reza Saidi, MD, FACS, FICS, says the program has developed a reputation for getting people timely transplants.

Peak Surgical Quality

In December 2020, Upstate announced that the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) named Upstate Community Hospital as one of just 89 facilities nationwide for meritorious outcomes for surgical care. Among its many awards, Upstate also has earned DNV accreditation as a Center of Excellence for Hip and Knee and as Blue Distinction Center, which also was achieved by its spine program. The pancreatic surgery program is recognized by the National Pancreas Foundation as a National Center of Excellence, and the breast cancer program is accredited nationally. In 2018, NSQIP recognized Upstate University Hospital as a high performer regarding care of high-risk surgical patients.

“The Surgical Quality Program focuses on monitoring and improving the quality of surgical care,” Dr. VanderMeer says. “We believe that by measuring what we do and being intentional about the way we provide care, we can make sure that our patients’ outcomes are always improving.”

Upstate defines outcomes not just on typical things, like complications or timings.

“We also prioritize patient satisfaction and quality of life so that our clinical care addresses all the needs of our patients and their families,” Dr. VanderMeer adds.

Coordinated Care for Comorbidities

The size of the Upstate University Hospital system makes it easy to coordinate comprehensive care for patients, no matter what health struggles they may be facing.

It is not uncommon for more than one surgical team to be treating a patient and the communication infrastructure streamlines bringing in any necessary experts. The surgeons also take care to communicate with primary care providers, as the hospital may be treating a patient for one condition or several.