SUNY Downstate’s Digestive Disease Center Wins Recognition from National Standards Organization
Jan 23, 2009
Brooklyn, NY - The Digestive Disease Center at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University has received the “Certificate of Recognition for Promoting Quality in Endoscopy” from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). ASGE is a national organization that sets standards of excellence in endoscopy through safety guidelines and the training of members.
The certificate is granted thought ASGE’s new Endoscopy Unit Recognition Program. To receive the certificate, endoscopy center staff must complete educational course work that includes improving patient satisfaction, endoscopy-related infections, endoscope reprocessing, designing and implementing a quality improvement program, training and credentialing, strategies for accreditation, and quality in sedation and monitoring.
The SUNY Downstate Digestive Disease Center, under the direction of Frank Gress, MD, professor of medicine and chief of gastroenterology and hepatology, was one of 56 endoscopy centers across the country to win recognition in this new program, and the first in Brooklyn. The center offers a full range of services, including consultations and office visits, upper endoscopy, colonoscopy, colorectal cancer screening, motility studies, 24-hour pH studies, capsule endoscopy, and treatment for Barrett's Esophagus, a condition that can result from prolonged gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) and if left untreated may lead to cancer.
Dr. Gress is a pioneer in the development of diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), a non-surgical, minimally invasive technique that is an extremely accurate non-surgical method of diagnosing and treating certain illnesses.
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.