White Plains, N.Y. (May 1, 2023) -- White Plains Hospital is pleased to announce that Dr. Rafael A. Ortiz has been named Executive Director of Neurosciences. In this role, Dr. Ortiz will work with physician, administrative and nursing leadership to enhance our capabilities as a tertiary level hospital for Neurosciences, working across our inpatient and ambulatory programs.
White Plains Hospital’s Neurosciences program offers comprehensive, cutting-edge treatment for a variety of complex neuro-endovascular, neurosurgical, neurological, cranial, and spine conditions. With board-certified neuro-endovascular surgeons, neurosurgeons, and neurologists, as well as the most advanced medical technologies and facilities, White Plains Hospital specializes in advanced treatments for patients with brain aneurysms, in need of stroke care, neurosurgery, pain management, and nonsurgical therapies.
“White Plains Hospital has quickly become the leading provider of advanced care in the Hudson Valley, and I am thrilled to join this world-class team as we continue to grow our Neurosciences program,” said Dr. Ortiz.
Dr. Ortiz has worked at the forefront of neuro-endovascular surgery for the last 20 years. His specialties include endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms; embolization of brain tumors and vascular tumors of the head and neck region; cerebral and spinal arteriovenous malformations; ischemic stroke; cerebral and carotid artery stenting; and treatment of craniofacial vascular lesions in adults and children, among others.
Most recently, he served as Chief of Neuro-Endovascular Surgery and Interventional Neuroradiology at Lenox Hill Hospital and the Western Region of the Northwell Health System; and Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Radiology and Neurology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. He received his medical degree from the Universidad Central del Caribe, completed an internship in internal medicine and residency in neurology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. He completed a fellowship in vascular neurology and neuro-critical care from the Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience in Philadelphia and a fellowship in interventional neuroradiology and endovascular surgery at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, Columbia University.
Dr. Ortiz has made prolific contributions to the specialty as a clinician and researcher; his work has been published in peer-reviewed publications including World Neurosurgery and Interventional Neuroradiology and he has presented his work at local, national and international conferences. Dr. Ortiz is board certified in neurology and vascular neurology and received a Recognition of Focused Practice in CNS endovascular surgery from the American Board of Neurological Surgery.
He is currently the President of the American Heart Association NYC Board of Directors and has received a variety of awards for clinical excellence, including recognition as a Top Doctor by Castle Connolly, New York Magazine and The New York Times.
###
About White Plains Hospital
White Plains Hospital is a proud member of the Montefiore Health System, serving as its tertiary hub of advanced care in the Hudson Valley. The Hospital is a 292-bed not-for-profit health care organization with the primary mission of providing exceptional acute and preventive medical care to all people who live in, work in or visit Westchester County and its surrounding areas. Centers of Excellence include the Center for Cancer Care and The William & Sylvia Silberstein Neonatal & Maternity Center. The Hospital’s Flanzer Emergency Department is the busiest in Westchester County. White Plains Hospital performs lifesaving emergency and elective angioplasty in its Joan and Alan Herfort, MD, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and Marie Promuto Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and in 2021, the Hospital formally launched its cardiac surgery program with its first-ever open-heart surgery in partnership with world-class cardiac surgeons from Montefiore Einstein. White Plains Hospital has outpatient medical facilities across Westchester, including multispecialty practices in Armonk, New Rochelle, Somers and Yorktown Heights; and Scarsdale Medical Group locations in Harrison and Scarsdale.
The Hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission and earned its recognition as a Top Performer for Key Quality Measures® in 2019. In 2022, White Plains Hospital received a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) — the highest distinction offered by that federal agency. In addition, the Hospital received Magnet® designation three times, most recently in 2021 from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). The Hospital recently received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® Gold Achievement Award for its treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks in its Emergency Department and Cardiac Catheterization labs and its mortality rate is amongst the lowest in the country according to the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR). The Hospital has been reaccredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, and by the for providing high-quality, patient-centered cancer care to their patients and the community. It has earned a three-year accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC), one of 60 hospitals in the nation, and the Hospital’s Bariatric Surgical Center was reaccredited as a Comprehensive Center under the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) in 2022. White Plains Hospital has received full accreditation for its breast cancer program four times from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) and The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) granted White Plains Hospital with two meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2022. Also in 2022, the Hospital received the Outstanding Patient Experience Award from Healthgrades® for the 7th time, and in 2023 became the only Hospital in Westchester to be awarded with an A Safety Grade from the Leapfrog Group for the 9th time.
https://www.wphospital.org/about/affiliations-accreditations-awards