Long Beach Cardiologist Joins South Nassau to Advance Cardiovascular and Primary Healthcare on Barrier Island

Dr. Lee Weitzman, a Long Beach-based physician who has been practicing cardiology and internal medicine for more than 34 years on the barrier island, has joined South Nassau Communities Hospital to improve and expand cardiovascular health and primary care services for residents of the city and surrounding communities.

This partnership is part of South Nassau’s commitment to help enhance health care services and revitalize the network of community-based physicians available for the residents.

“Dr. Weitzman is a respected physician who established his career in Long Beach through decades of dedication to his patients and commitment to quality cardiac and primary care,” said Adhi Sharma, MD, Chief Medical Officer at South Nassau Communities Hospital. “We share in his commitment to his patients and look forward to expanding our network of practicing physicians in the community.”

“This partnership represents South Nassau’s continuing commitment to residents of the barrier island and is part of our plan to strengthen the availability of specialists to Long Beach patients so they don’t have to leave the barrier island for services like non-emergency cardiology care. Dr. Weitzman is a well-respected and established clinician and we are excited about having our staff of cardiovascular experts work with him and his patients,” said Richard J. Murphy, South Nassau’s President & CEO.

Located at 325 West Park Ave. in the heart of Long Beach, the practice provides full-range cardiac diagnostic services, including nuclear stress testing (which uses radioactive dye and an imaging machine to create pictures showing the blood flow to the heart); cardiac stress test (the heart is stimulated either by exercise on a treadmill, pedaling a stationary exercise bicycle ergometer, or with intravenous pharmacological stimulation, with the patient connected to an electrocardiogram that records the heart’s response and blood pressure to the activity) and echocardiography (the use of ultrasound to examine and measure the structure and functioning of the heart and to diagnose abnormalities and disease). The practice is open to see patients 8AM-4PM Monday-Thursday and 8AM-1PM on Friday.

“The partnership between Dr. Weitzman and South Nassau Communities Hospital is another significant step toward restoring healthcare services on the Barrier Island,” said Senator Todd Kaminsky, a member of the Senate Health Committee. “I know from personal experience that this partnership is great for patients after the excellent care Dr. Weitzman provided to my grandmother.”

“When healthcare providers known for quality care and advanced medicine join forces, the ultimate beneficiaries are the patients and communities they serve,” added County Executive Laura Curran.  “That is what the residents of Long Beach can expect from Dr. Weitzman and South Nassau as they have each proven year-after-year that there isn’t a single challenge that could stop them from fulfilling their missions to provide excellent healthcare.”

As a result of the partnership, Dr. Weitzman’s office staff has expanded to include experienced clinical cardiologists Jason Levi Esses, MD, FACC, and Michael Sood, MD, who also specializes in internal medicine. Dr. Esses is seeing patients full-time at the practice while Dr. Sood rotates through the practice once a week.

“Dr. Esses and Dr. Sood are known for their clinical acumen as well as attentive and responsive relationships that they establish with their patients,” said Dr. Weitzman, who also served as the Chief of Medicine at the now-closed Long Beach Medical Center. “South Nassau is a first-rate hospital with an excellent cardiovascular interventional lab and cardiology team. I look forward to continuing to serve Long Beach and the surrounding communities and seeing this successful partnership to its fruition.”

Dr. Esses specializes in coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, arrhythmias, stress testing, noninvasive imaging, hypertension, lipid disorders, and valvular disease. He is board-certified in Cardiovascular Disease, Echocardiography, Nuclear Cardiology and Internal Medicine. He is also a board-certified Clinical Lipidologist, which encompasses cholesterol management, cardiovascular risk assessment and intervention. He obtained his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, NY, completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, NY and his fellowship at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. Dr. Esses is a Diplomate of The National Board of Echocardiography and The Board of Nuclear Cardiology and a Fellow American College of Cardiology.

Dr. Sood is board-certified in cardiovascular disease, internal medicine, echocardiography and nuclear cardiology.  He completed his residency in internal medicine at New York Methodist Hospital, Park Slope, Brooklyn, an affiliate via Weill Cornell Medical College. He was fellowship-trained in cardiovascular disease at New York Methodist Hospital, where he also served as chief fellow.  He earned his medical degree from Saba University School of Medicine, Saba, Netherlands Antilles and additionally earned a master’s degree in hyperbaric medicine.  He also completed a research fellowship with level 3 training in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. Prior to joining the faculty at South Nassau Communities Hospital, Dr. Sood was in private practice.  He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and a member of the American College of Physicians and Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance.  He has strong interests in clinical medicine, teaching and advanced cardiac imaging.

“Having convenient access to advanced healthcare providers such as Dr. Weitzman and South Nassau is essential to the quality of life of a community. Now as partners, Dr. Weitzman and South Nassau will help ensure that Long Beach remains a vibrant city so many are proud to call home and look to start-up and establish businesses,” said Assemblywoman Missy Miller.

“This is an important step in the revitalization of the healthcare delivery system in Long Beach,” said Nassau County Legislator and Long Beach resident Denise Ford. “The partnership unifies two providers, Dr. Weitzman and South Nassau that know the healthcare needs of the residents and are committed to our needs for compassionate, responsive healthcare.”

South Nassau operates the only 9-1-1 receiving Emergency Department on Long Island, with physicians who are board-certified in emergency medicine. The South Nassau Emergency Department in Long Beach has served 27,000 patients since opening in August of 2015, 87 percent of whom have been treated and released without having to leave the barrier island. A study commissioned by South Nassau in 2016 concluded that many physicians left the barrier island after Sandy and recommended that South Nassau find ways to help attract physicians back to Long Beach.

Designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for outstanding nursing care, South Nassau® Communities Hospital is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 455 beds, more than 900 physicians and 3,500 employees. Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health and emergency services.

In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, South Nassau provides emergency and elective angioplasty, and offers Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery technologies.  South Nassau operates the only Trauma Center on the South Shore of Nassau County verified by the American College of Surgeons as well as Long Island’s only free-standing, 9-1-1 receiving Emergency Department in Long Beach. South Nassau is the only hospital on Long Island in 2018 to achieve Healthgrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery™, Orthopedic Surgery Excellence Award™ and 5-star rating for Total Hip Replacement, and it was one of just two hospitals on Long Island to achieve Healthgrades 5-stars in Hip Fracture Treatment. South Nassau also is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons, and is an accredited center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality Improvement Program.
 
In addition, the hospital has been awarded the Joint Commission’s gold seal of approval for disease-specific care for hip and knee replacement, heart failure, bariatric surgery, wound care and end-stage renal disease. For more information, visit www.southnassau.org.