36 The Courier sun • health • NOVEMBER 3, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com ▶health LIJ Forest Hills unveils new Imaging Center Getting an MRI in Queens has never been easier. Patients who need an MRI at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital will now be seen in the radiology department’s new state-of-the-art Imaging Center. That’s just one of the changes happening as LIJ Forest Hill undergoes an $8.2 million building expansion of their radiology and OB/GYN departments. Radiology, which shared space with OB/GYN on the third floor, has vacated to make room for single-patient rooms slated to debut in late 2017. The Imaging Center – which cost approximately $3.2 million and opened on Oct. 28 – takes up the space previously used by the hospital’s outpatient clinic. A ramp walkway from 102nd Street provides access to the center for diagnostic patients on an outpatient basis. “We are changing the face of LIJ Forest Hills by expanding programs, recruiting full-time faculty, and updating our facility to make it more accommodating to both inpatients and outpatients,” said Susan Browning, executive director of the hospital. Led by Samuel Kim, MD, chairman of radiology at LIJ Forest Hills, Hoi Huang, MD, and Jerry Chang, MD, the radiologists and their staff provide diagnostic services, including low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans, digital X-rays, ultrasounds and interventional radiology procedures such as biopsies and drainages. “ T h e I m a g i n g Center provides stateo f - t h e - a r t i m a g i n g technology,” Dr. Kim said. “We have subspecial - ists on site (neuroradiology, abdominal radiology and interv e n t i o n a l r a d i o l o g y ) and access to other subs p e c i a l i s t s remotely throughout the health system, which is important in a community hospital setting.” Drs. Kim and Huang focus on the diagnosis of abnormalities of the brain, spine, head and neck, while Dr. Chang specializes in performing and interpreting thoracic, abdominal, pelvic, CT and MRI scans. Radiologists are doctors who graduate from the same medical schools as doctors and surgeons, and then go on to do residencies in diagnosing and treating diseases. They use digital imaging to help diagnose and guide the treatment of diseases and medical conditions. In 2015, nearly 85,000 diagnostic tests were performed at LIJ Forest Hills. Most of the tests are read at the hospital. But some, like lung cancer screenings, require specialized radiologists who read and interpret the images electronically at offsite locations of Northwell Health. Photos courtesy Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital In the near future, the imaging center expects to once again offer mammograms, a screening exam that had been temporarily suspended in 2015 as the hospital sought to purchase the latest in breast cancer detection. Until that happens, women needing mammograms will be referred to Northwell Health Imaging at the Center for Advanced Medicine in Lake Success, NY.
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