Newswise — NEW YORK (June 13, 2016) – Montefiore Health System has a new collaborative program with its partner St. John’s Riverside Hospital to offer patients suffering from kidney, pancreas or liver disease an opportunity to be evaluated for transplantation at St. John’s Riverside Hospital by specialists from Montefiore Einstein Center for Transplantation. The collaboration is designed to increase continuity of care for patients and their families with their local healthcare providers and transplant experts in an easy, accessible manner.

“Earlier evaluation of patients suffering from kidney, pancreases and liver disease can help identify potential barriers to being placed on transplant lists and determine if alternative medical or surgical therapies would be most appropriate,” said Milan Kinkhabwala, M.D., chief of the Division of Transplantation and director of abdominal transplantation at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Transplantation, and professor of surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “We encourage transplant candidates to take advantage of these consultations as they can help ensure comprehensive care is initiated in a timely fashion. It will also allow us to identify how to best keep patients as healthy as possible and improve their quality of life while they await a transplant.”

Montefiore Einstein Center for Transplantation reports that Montefiore adult patient survival rates consistently rank higher than the national average, with a 95.09 percent liver transplant one-year survival rate vs. a 90.89 percent national liver transplant one-year survival rate, according to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.

“St. John’s Riverside Hospital is excited to partner with Montefiore in this collaborative transplant program,” said Paul P Antonecchia, M.D., chief medical officer, St. John’s Riverside Hospital. “As we seek to provide expanded healthcare services to our community, this type of collaboration will positively impact the level of care that we can provide closer to our patients’ homes.”

For information about scheduling appointments please call 1-888-RX-LIVER (1-888-795-4837) or 1-877-CURE-KDNY (1-877-287-3536) or email: [email protected]

About Montefiore Health System Montefiore Health System is one of New York’s premier academic health systems and is a recognized leader in providing exceptional quality and personalized, accountable care to approximately three million people in communities across the Bronx, Westchester and the Hudson Valley. It is comprised of 10 hospitals, including the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and close to 200 outpatient care sites. The advanced clinical and translational research at its’ medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, directly informs patient care and improves outcomes. From the Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence in cancer, cardiology and vascular care, pediatrics, and transplantation, to its’ preeminent school-based health program, Montefiore is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system providing coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and their families. For more information please visit www.montefiore.org. Follow us on Twitter and view us on Facebook and YouTube.

About St. John’s Riverside Hospital St. John’s Riverside Hospital has been an integral part of its community since the 1869 and its commitment to providing the most advanced medical services available continues to be part of St. John's vision, mission and values. St. John's built itself around an early foundation of nursing and community service. In 1894, the Cochran School of Nursing, the oldest hospital-based school of nursing in the metropolitan area, was founded, making the St. John's Nursing staff the backbone of the hospital. Approximately 400 physicians, representing almost every medical and surgical specialty, choose St. John’s for their patients’ care. St. John’s is a 3-campus hospital that includes St. John’s Andrus, Dobbs Ferry and ParkCare Pavilions. Please visit us on the web at RiversideHealth.org and on Facebook

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