Newswise — Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center welcomes Martin Gizzi, M.D., as director, Division of Cerebrovascular Diseases at Hackensack University Medical Center, where he will lead the Comprehensive Stroke Center.
“Dr. Gizzi is a welcome addition to our Neuroscience Institute,” said Florian P. Thomas, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Neuroscience Institute and the Department of Neurology, founding chair and professor, Department of Neurology, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University “Dr. Gizzi’s expertise will elevate and advance the care we provide to our patients and their families.”
“Dr. Gizzi joins a world-class team in the Department of Neurology,” said Mark D. Sparta, FACHE, president and chief hospital executive, Hackensack University Medical Center and executive vice president, Population Health, Hackensack Meridian Health. “With his dedication to patient care excellence and his vast clinical expertise, I am confident that Dr. Gizzi will bring our stroke center to the next level.”
Prior to joining Hackensack University Medical Center, Dr. Gizzi was the director of Neurology for the Legacy Health System in Portland, Oregon. He also previously served as the chair of the Neuroscience Institute at JFK Medical Center and was professor and chair of Neuroscience at Seton Hall University School of Health and Medical Sciences.
“I will be reorganizing the stroke program at Hackensack University Medical Center with the creation of a dedicated inpatient neurology stroke service,” said Dr. Gizzi. “In addition, I intend to create a tele-stroke program for our stroke neurologists in order to evaluate patients more quickly.”
Hackensack University Medical Center’s Comprehensive Stroke Center is the largest of its kind in Bergen County. Caring for more than 1,000 stroke patients annually, Hackensack University Medical Center is certified by the Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center and licensed as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.
“I intend to lead Hackensack University Medical Center to certification by the Joint Commission as a comprehensive stroke center, which will cement our role as the premiere hospital for advanced stroke care in New Jersey,” added Dr. Gizzi.
Dr. Gizzi holds an M.D. from the University of Miami and a PhD in neurophysiology from New York University. Dr. Gizzi was trained in neurology and neuro-ophthalmology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He is board-certified in neurology with subspecialty certification in vascular neurology.
Dr. Gizzi served as the chair of the New Jersey Department of Health’s Stroke Advisory Panel for 11 years. He is a past chair of the NorthEast Cerebrovascular Consortium, a regional section of the American Heart Association. He currently sits on the Technical Advisory Panels for Comprehensive Stroke Certification and Acute Stroke Ready Certification at the Joint Commission.
He received the American Heart Association’s Physician of the Year award in 2009, the New Jersey Office of Emergency Medical Services’ Director’s Award in 2010 and the American Stroke Association’s Community Conscience Award in 2012. A fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society, the American Neurotology Society and the American Heart Association, Dr. Gizzi has published numerous scientific articles in the fields of vision, eye movements, balance disorders and stroke. Dr. Gizzi’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, NASA and private foundations.
About Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center
Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center, a 781-bed nonprofit teaching and research hospital located in Bergen County, NJ, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state. Founded in 1888 as the county’s first hospital, it is now part of the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care, which is comprised of 34,100 team members and more than 6,500 physicians. Hackensack University Medical Center was listed as one of the top two hospitals in New Jersey in U.S. News & World Report’s 2018-19 Best Hospital rankings. It was also named one of the top five New York Metro Area hospitals. Hackensack University Medical Center is one of only five major academic medical centers in the nation to receive Healthgrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award for five or more years in a row. Becker’s Hospital Review recognized Hackensack University Medical Center as one of the 100 Great Hospitals in America 2018. The medical center is one of the top 25 green hospitals in the country according to Practice Greenhealth for the sixth consecutive year, and received 25 Gold Seals of Approval™ by The Joint Commission – more than any other hospital in the country. It was the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet® recognized hospital for nursing excellence; receiving its sixth consecutive designation in 2019. Hackensack University Medical Center has created an entire campus of award-winning care, including: the John Theurer Cancer Center; the Heart & Vascular Hospital; and the Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women’s and Children’s Pavilion, which houses the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital and Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital, which was designed with The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center® and listed on the Green Guide’s list of Top 10 Green Hospitals in the U.S. Hackensack University Medical Center is the Hometown Hospital of the New York Giants and the New York Red Bulls and is Official Medical Services Provider to THE NORTHERN TRUST PGA Golf Tournament. It remains committed to its community through fundraising and community events especially the Tackle Kids Cancer Campaign providing much needed research at the Children’s Cancer Institute housed at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital. To learn more, visit www.HackensackUMC.org.
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