NYU Langone Medical Center opened a new medical care and research facility yesterday, raising the bar for care around the country.
Images
Patients are given iPads so that they can access information about prostate cancer and treatments.
Topics
Joel E. Smilow, a member of the Board of Trustees of NYU Langone and NYU, donated $5 million to build The Smilow Comprehensive Prostate Cancer Center.
The center, located at 135 E. 31st St., specializes in the care of prostate cancer patients and their families.
"Different patients have different fears and different needs, and we can meet them," said NYU urology professor and director of the center Dr. Herbert Lepor.
Lepor, who originally conceived of the idea for the center, had written a proposal and given it to Smilow for review.
"He wanted to know how to improve it," Smilow said. "I said sure, I'll tell you how. But I want to be your investor."
Working with a team of diverse professionals, Lepor spearheaded the creation of what Smilow called "a good investment."
The center will provide state-of-the-art personalized care for each patient — from the early stages of diagnosis to treatment selection to the operating room for outpatient procedures.
"The goal of the Smilow Center team is to help each patient make an informed decision about their treatment options for prostate cancer and choose the treatment that is the best fit for them personally and medically," Leopor said.
The center also has a wired waiting room, that features iPads, HD TVs and an interactive video library that can inform patients.
"There are 12 areas that ranged from diagnosis, to radiation, to what happens after treatment," Lepor said. "We feel the first step to satisfaction is an informed patient,"
