Achievements & Awards
By combining the resources of Albany Medical College and the Hospital, Albany Medical Center provides an extensive range of specialty and subspecialty programs and it serves as the major referral center for the area's 3.5 million residents.
2006 / 2007 Achievements and Awards
Staff and Programs
- Albany Med is the only hospital in northeastern New York to be named a 2006/2007 Consumer Choice Award winner by the National Research Corporation for having the highest quality and image in 180 markets throughout the US.
- The Business Review named Albany Med one of the Capital Region's "Great Places to Work" for the third year in row.
- Albany Med was listed among a group of 25 health care organizations named "Most Improved" in information technology, according to the American Hospital Association's (AHA) 2007 Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study.
- The Federal Government honored Albany Med's efforts "at the forefront of pollution prevention and waste minimization" by presenting it with the 2006 Environmental Achiever in New York recognition.
- Albany Med was one of only three hospitals in the nation to be recognized by the American Heart/Stroke Association Get With The Guidelines program for performance achievement in stroke, coronary artery disease and heart failure.
- Albany Med's Bariatric Surgery team earned the highest level of achievement--accreditation and designated center status from the American College of Surgeons. In 2006, Albany Med was just one of three hospitals in the state and only one of 12 in the nation to receive this notable designation.
- According to the NYS Department of Health, Albany Med had the fewest mortalities for surgery performed on infants and children with congenital heart defects from 2002-2005.
- Albany Med was presented with the Donation Medal of Honor for dramatically increasing organ donor rates in 2006.
- Albany Med's Epilepsy Program became one of just six state programs to earn the National Association of Epilepsy Centers prestigious Level 4 designation.
New Programs and Medical Firsts.
- Albany Med's Stroke program is the first in the region to receive dual certification by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and designation as a State Stroke Center by the NYS Department of Health.
- Stroke team first to introduce clot-busting MERCI device that can extend the treatment window for stroke by up to three hours.
- First to Install Defibrillators Hospital-wide.
- First to perform revolutionary X STOP artificial spinal disc surgery.
- Robotic Surgery - Surgeons in the Division of Urology are performing the da Vinci Prostatectomy using a robotic arm to remove the prostate gland without a major incision. Additionally, Albany Med successfully performed the region's first robotic gastric bypass surgery.
- Albany Med now has the only operative/endovascular suite in the region-offering a high-tech and potentially lifesaving option for patients in need.
Medical Breakthroughs and Research
- Cardiovascular researchers at Albany Medical College discover a compound that shows early promise in breast cancer treatment.
- The Alzheimer's Center at Albany Med takes part in $60 million nationwide initiative to treat and cure Alzheimer's.
- Albany Medical College receives a $150,000 five-year award to host tularemia conferences.
- A $1.8 million grant awarded by the NIH to Peter Vincent, PhD, will allow Albany Med researchers to explore the barrier function of blood vessels that could one day lead to preventing atherosclerosis, severe respiratory distress in trauma victims and even tumor growth in some cancer patients.
- The American Cancer Society awarded Jihe Zhao, MD, PhD, $720,000 to study the biological differences between cancerous and normal ovarian cells.
Achievements
- Degrees awarded to 197 students in the 168th commencement ceremony: 131 received medical degrees, 51 received Master of Science or doctoral degrees.
