JUNE 2020 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 35
HUNTINGTON HOSPITAL’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DR. NICK FITTERMAN TOP-NOTCH CARE
Dear Neighbor,
Our nurses, physicians and staff have been touched
and gratified by the outpouring of support from the
Huntington community. We thank you for this and for
your ongoing expressions of generosity and solidarity.
We are here for you, and we are in this together. Here
are some updates.
We are pleased to tell you that new COVID-19 cases
at Huntington Hospital have been declining over the
past 2 weeks. At the same time, we remain at a level
of high alert, with more than 50 patients requiring
Critical Care services for their coronavirus infection and
its complications. Our clinical staff is continuing to
devote exceptional energy, skill and care to this battle.
At the same time, our Emergency Department visits
have declined dramatically, and we are pleased to
report that most patients coming do NOT have COVID
infection. The takeaway: do NOT avoid emergency
care if you need it. We are hearing of cases where
stroke symptoms and other serious health issues have
been neglected because people are afraid to come to a
hospital. Please understand that we have configured
our ED to assure immediate isolation of suspected cases
and a safe pathway for all of our patients.
We also want you to know that your hospital is
an active partner in the national effort to learn as
much as we can as fast as we can about SARS CoV2,
the virus that causes COVID-19. A number of our
physicians, working under the auspices of Northwell’s
Feinstein Institute for research, are investigators
in important multi-center studies. Such research
studies will help define the best approaches to
treating this condition and supporting patients in
a way to maximize survival
and quality of life.
Finally, we ask you to
continue to adhere to State
and national guidance
about social distancing,
hand hygiene and mask
use. Together, we will beat
COVID-19.
Most sincerely,
Nick Fitterman, MD, MACP
Executive Director
Huntington Hospital
BY MICHELLE GABRIELLE CENTAMORE
Dr. Nick Fitterman, Huntington Hospital’s
executive director, is a native Long
Islander who has embraced the Town of
Huntington as his “personal and professional
home.”
Run by New Hyde Park-based Northwell
Health, the state-of-the-art healthcare
facility strives to offer the kind of
unsurpassed care and compassion to
patients that has been valued by Dr.
Fitterman since before he began his
career. He says childhood experiences
with his family’s pediatrician were the
driving forces behind him becoming a
physician.
“We didn’t have a lot of money,” he says.
“My pediatrician took care of us and I
always remember how grateful my parents
were. This one person could impact
the lives of the whole family. I wanted to
be able to do something like that.”
In his previous roles as head of hospitalists
at Huntington Hospital and
vice chair of medicine at Northwell,
Dr. Fitterman says he was
able to help address “the
changing landscape
of patients’ needs and
available treatment”
and “improve efficiencies
and quality at
numerous hospitals.”
In October 2018, Dr. Fitterman
leapt at the
opportunity
to become
the executive
director at
Huntington
Hospital. He
recalls thinking, “How great would it be
to potentially have even more influence
to improve the care of the community I
live in? This job to me is a dream job.”
Dr. Fitterman praises Huntington Hospital’s
exceptional collaborative team
that includes physicians, nursing
staff, aides, and environmental
workers.
“These people are really committed
to relieving suffering of
anyone that walks through our
doors,” he says.
Huntington Hospital
was previously ranked
the 12th best hospital in
the state and 14th in the
region by U.S. News &
World Report’s 2019-20
Best Hospitals rankings.
“What all this reflects is that the
community should feel safe,” he says.
“They don’t need to travel to get worldclass
care — it’s right here in their
backyard.”
Dr. Fitterman says Huntington Hospital
will continue to raise the bar in healthcare
with plans to build a world-class
cancer center in Huntington as part of
the Northwell Cancer Institute as well
as developing a neuroscience center. In
addition, the hospital aims to enhance
its already outstanding orthopedic and
bariatric programs.
“We are building programs here not
to create a demand but rather, to meet
the needs of community,” he says.
“Healthcare should be a right and not
a privilege. The sanctity of a physician
patient relationship is paramount
to good care.”
PRESS HEALTH
Dr. Nick Fitterman
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
