Newswise — Two of the leading names in health care in the tri-state region, New Jersey–based Atlantic Health System and New York–based NYU Langone Health, are teaming up to give patients greater access to heart and liver transplants and the coordinated, high-quality care needed to stay healthy.

The clinical affiliation will partner NYU Langone’s nationally recognized transplant program with the nationally ranked Atlantic Health System Heart Care program located at Morristown Medical Center’s Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute (Morristown, NJ) and the pioneering liver services at Overlook Medical Center (Summit, NJ).

 “This new affiliation will strengthen our nationally ranked cardiac program, while significantly enhancing our ability to care for patients with advanced liver disease,” said Atlantic Health System President and CEO Brian Gragnolati. “Our patients will now have the combination of access to one of the nation’s leading transplantation programs, with expert care both in New York and close to home in New Jersey that will ensure continuity of care and the best outcomes.”

Eligible patients throughout the region will be able to receive comprehensive pre- and post-transplant care close to home from Atlantic Health System’s top-ranked hospitals and health care providers and have transplants performed through the renowned NYU Langone Transplant Institute.  

“This new partnership will elevate transplant care for thousands of New Jersey families—and save many lives,” said Robert Montgomery, MD, DPhil, director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute and the H. Leon Pachter Chair of Surgery at NYU Langone. “Our comprehensive team of specialized surgeons, physicians, nurse coordinators, pharmacists, nutritionists, and social workers is excited to offer world-class care to patients of the Atlantic Health System and advance our joint mission to expand access to organ transplantation.”

At Morristown Medical Center, which is nationally ranked for cardiovascular medicine, pre- and post-op care for heart transplant patients will take place at Atlantic Health System’s Heart Failure program, a multidisciplinary team that includes physicians, advanced practice nurses, and registered nurses, led by Abhishek Singh, MD, PhD, who is boarded in advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology.

At Overlook, Atlantic Health and NYU Langone will collaborate to develop a robust liver disease and transplant service, that will diagnose and treat a broad spectrum of liver disease. Overlook Medical Center’s vascular lab is already pioneering the diagnosis and treatment of fatty liver disease through a combination of transient elastography and portal duplex ultrasound.  

Liver transplant care will begin on-site at Overlook with Harmit S. Kalia, DO, a board-certified hepatologist and director of liver transplant outreach at NYU Langone, who will join Overlook’s medical staff while continuing to practice at NYU Langone.

The majority of pre- and post-op care for liver transplant patients can be provided by Atlantic Health System at Overlook, which offers a full radiological suite of services, including interventional radiologists who treat advanced liver disease, led by Yousaf Mahmood, MD.

About Atlantic Health System 

Atlantic Health System is at the forefront of medicine, setting standards for quality health care in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the New York metropolitan area. Powered by a workforce of more than 18,000 team members and 4,800 affiliated physicians dedicated to building healthier communities, Atlantic Health System serves more than half of the state of New Jersey including 11 counties and 4.9 million people. The not-for-profit system offers more than 400 sites of care, including seven hospitals: Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, NJ, Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ, Newton Medical Center in Newton NJ, Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains, NJ, Hackettstown Medical Center in Hackettstown, NJ, Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, NJ, and Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute in Madison, NJ.

Atlantic Medical Group, comprised of 1,000 physicians and advanced practice providers, represents one of the largest multi-specialty practices in New Jersey and joins Atlantic Accountable Care Organization and Optimus Healthcare Partners as part of Atlantic Alliance, a Clinically Integrated Network of more than 2,500 health care providers throughout northern and central NJ.

Atlantic Health System provides care for the full continuum of health care needs through 16 urgent care centers, Atlantic Visiting Nurse and Atlantic Anywhere Virtual Visits. Facilitating the connection between these services on both land and air is the transportation fleet of Atlantic Mobile Health.

Atlantic Health System leads the Healthcare Transformation Consortium, a partnership of seven regional hospitals and health systems dedicated to improving access and affordability and is a founding member of the PIER Consortium – Partners in Innovation, Education, and Research – a streamlined clinical trial system that will expand access to groundbreaking research across five health systems in the region.

Atlantic Health System has a medical school affiliation with Thomas Jefferson University and is home to the regional campus of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Morristown and Overlook Medical Centers and is the official health care partner of the New York Jets.

About NYU Langone Health

NYU Langone Health is a world-class, patient-centered, integrated academic medical center, known for its excellence in clinical care, research, and education. Included in its 350+ locations throughout the New York area are six inpatient locations: Tisch Hospital, its flagship acute-care facility; Kimmel Pavilion, its state-of-the-art healthcare facility, opened in 2018; NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, a dedicated inpatient orthopedic hospital with all musculoskeletal specialties ranked top 10 in the country; Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone, a comprehensive pediatric hospital supporting a full array of children's health services; NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, a full-service teaching hospital and level 1 trauma center located in Sunset Park, Brooklyn; and NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island, a 591-bed hospital and level 1 trauma center located in Mineola, Long Island. Also part of NYU Langone Health is the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, and NYU Grossman School of Medicine, which since 1841 has trained thousands of physicians and scientists who have helped to shape the course of medical history; and NYU Long Island School of Medicine, on the campus of NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island, which offers full-tuition scholarships with an innovative, accelerated three-year curriculum exclusively devoted to training primary care physicians. For more information, go to nyulangone.org, and interact with us on FacebookTwitterYouTube, and Instagram.