on the road to becoming a world-class institution, there are many first-class milestones, and some of the biggest in recent months are highlighted in this issue. in June, we announced that nyu langone Medical center has raised an unprecedented $1 billion in philanthropy over the last four years. the sum represents 66,000 separate gifts from some 51,000 donors—an astonish- ing outpouring of generosity, and a measure of the dedication our friends and benefactors have for this institution. We’ve learned that nyu langone is among those hospitals nationwide with the lowest mortality rates for heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia—a remarkable achievement in quality and safety standards.

in its 14th annual “best doctors” issue,

From th ean & CEO

120 physicians, including 12 department
chairs, from nyu langone as among
new york city’s finest practitioners.
in March, benlysta, the first new drug
for lupus in half a century, won fdA approval.
two of our researchers, dr. Jill buyon and
dr. Anca Askanase, played an instrumental
role in its testing.

our excellence, you could say, ranges from soup to nuts. At this year’s Association for healthcare foodservice’s conference, a dish created by our chefs beat out

21 entries from around the country to win top honors. thanks and congratulations to all!

Jon Simon

Robert I. Grossman, MD

Although the dish won’t show up on patients’ meal trays, our guests will have a chance to taste it themselves. “We’ll definitely use it for special catered events,” says perez, “and we’ll do a retail promotion so that customers can enjoy the selection from tisch hospital’s first-floor cafeteria.”

Yusie Kim and Cornel Ruhland put the finishing touches on their award-winning creation.

The Violet Team Takes Home the Gold

New York magazine recognized more than
the brightly colored soy paper tropical rice roll filled with grain-fed chicken and accompanied
by a crisp organic vegetable salad wouldn’t be out of place in a trendy restaurant, but it’s
being served only at nyu langone Medical center. the creation of yusie Kim, retail services
supervisor, and cornel ruhland, chef de cuisine, the dish beat out 21 entries from around the
country to win top honors at the Association for healthcare foodservice’s annual conference,
held in June in phoenix.

According to the rules, each dish had to include tyson boneless, skinless chicken thighs (tyson sponsored the competition) and follow strict requirements for calorie, fiber, sodium, and fat content. in addition, each finished plate, including the entrée, sides, sauces, and garnish, had to cost less than $5. surprisingly, says ruhland, “it’s not too difficult” to work within such limitations. “you focus on the quality of the basic products— ripe fruits and vegetables, fresh cilantro—so that you don’t have to add salt or other seasonings.” the biggest challenge was meeting the fiber requirements, admits Kim, a dietitian. they solved it by adding red lentils and more vegetables, such as broccoli.

news roundup
“We didn’t have the usual kitchen environment for production of the recipe—just two burners
and a limited number of pots, pans, and utensils,” recalls Kim. instead of refrigerators, they had
to use ice for product cooling. ruhland and Kim had practiced to make sure they could create the
required five portions of their meal in the allotted 75 minutes, paring down the recipe to keep the
preparation as simple as possible.

five teams were chosen for the final competition, a heated showdown reminiscent of the popular tV program Iron Chef. for the first time, two of the teams came from the same institution, nyu langone Medical center. two other rivals came from sister facilities within the same healthcare system, one of which was gunning for the gold for a third time. the fifth team had also placed in a previous year’s competition.

“this was a really innovative use of the mandatory ingredient, with an amazing look,” says betty perez, senior director of food and nutrition services. “it had that Asian flair and was the only cold entrée.” perez listened in as spectators sampled the entries. everyone agreed: ruhland’s and Kim’s creation deserved the gold medal.

More Than 120 NYU Langone
Physicians Named among
“Best Doctors” in New York

in its 14th annual “best doctors” issue, published in June, New York magazine recognized more than 120 physicians from nyu langone Medical center as among new york city’s finest practitioners. this year’s roster included 12 department chairs, who were noted for their expertise in cardiothoracic surgery, dermatology, general surgery, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopaedic surgery, otolaryngology, plastic surgery, radiation oncology, rehabilitation medicine, and urology. the issue also profiles timothy rapp, Md, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and chief of the division of orthopaedic oncology. the article features the amputation of a patient’s lower leg to remove a soft-tissue sarcoma, a rare cancer that occurs in connective tissue. the surgery was performed because the condition was not sensitive to radiation or chemotherapy treatments and had a high risk of recurrence.

in all, the magazine listed 1,144 physicians in 63 specialties from all five boroughs and several surrounding counties. they were drawn from a roster of more than 6,000 practitioners featured in

Top Doctors: New York Metro Area, an annual guidebook published by castle connolly Medical ltd. for a complete list of nyu langone physicians who were honored, visit http://nymag.com/bestdoctors/.

A Post–Father’s Day Cancer Screening Event
That’s Not Just for Dads

New York Magazine

saturday, June 25, brought temperatures in the 80s, and most of the middle-aged men who lined up outside nyu langone Medical center’s clinical cancer center were dressed for the heat— short-sleeved shirts and brimmed hats. but this was no fun summer outing. these men were taking advantage of a free, week-long screening for prostate-specific antigen (psA), a blood test designed to spot prostate cancer in its early stages.

the number of men who arrived—by 8:30 a.m., scores had shown up—speaks to the grim statistics. each year, prostate cancer strikes more than 200,000 Americans, claiming the lives of nearly 30,000. early detection is the key, which means that for some of these men, the day may well have been a lifesaver.

Men with normal readings will have their results mailed to them within four to six weeks, while those with elevated psA levels—over 2.5 for men between 40 and 60, and above 4.0 for men older than that—will be contacted by phone. this is the seventh year nyu langone has participated in the annual screening, held during the week after father’s day. sponsored by the New York Daily News, the event takes place at eight hospitals. last year, 9,000 men were tested citywide, including more than 2,000 at nyu langone. in addition to the clinical cancer center, our ambulatory care centers at columbus Medical in Queens and trinity center in lower Manhattan participated as well.

“since widespread psA testing began in the early 1990s, the death rate from prostate cancer has dropped every year,” notes samir taneja, Md, the James M. neissa and Janet riha neissa Associate professor of urologic oncology, who oversees the program and is on staff at the smilow comprehensive prostate cancer center. “if we want to maintain these good outcomes, this is something we need to keep doing. We realize that not all cases of prostate cancer are lethal, but it’s only through early detection that we can make intelligent decisions about who requires treatment and who doesn’t.”