NEWARK, NJ – Mark Jay
Zucker, MD, JD, FACC, FACP, director of the Heart
Failure Treatment and Transplant Program at Newark
Beth Israel Medical Center, was voted president-elect
of the New Jersey Chapter of the American College
of Cardiology. His one-year term runs through
2005, with his tenure as president beginning
in January 2006. An NJACC council member since
1992, Dr. Zucker serves as the Chapter’s
representative to Medicare. Most recently, he
has been active on behalf of Chapter members
in the resolution process surrounding recoupment
of cardiac catheterization claims by Horizon
BCBS of New Jersey.
A resident of Short Hills, Dr. Zucker has been involved with heart
transplantation since 1987. After completing his cardiology fellowship
at Northwestern University, he joined the faculty at Loyola University
Medical Center as one of four attending transplant cardiologists. In
September of 1989, Dr. Zucker relocated to New Jersey to become the
Director of Cardiac Transplantation at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
In its fifteenth year under the leadership of Dr. Zucker, the Heart
Failure Treatment and Transplant Program at Newark Beth Israel reached
a milestone with 42 heart transplants in calendar year 2004, ranking
it among the top ten programs in the country. The program’s results
rival those at major nationally recognized centers with a one-year survival
rate over the past few years in excess of 90 percent and a three-year
survival rate of 80 percent.
One element that sets the program apart from others is the unprecedented
opportunity for patients to participate in the latest research and clinical
drug trial studies, due in large part to Dr. Zucker’s direction.
He has been a principal investigator in over 20 pharmaceutical or device
manufacturer-sponsored trials, an author of over 40 papers, abstracts,
and book chapters, and a collaborating investigator in the Jarvik total
artificial heart trial, the Thoratec Heartmate trials, and most recently
the MicroMed DeBakey axial flow pump trial. Just last month, a 35-year
old mother and patient of Dr. Zucker’s with end-stage heart failure
was the first individual in the Northeast U.S. to return home after
receiving a biventricular support assist device (VAD). This device allowed
her to live in her own home and experience a vastly improved quality
of life while she continued with treatment. The patient subsequently
received a heart transplant.
During his career, Dr. Zucker has been responsible for the pre-operative
evaluation, post-operative care and immunosuppressive management of
over 550 heart and 35 lung transplant recipients. Instrumental in developing
New Jersey’s first adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)
program, he has worked collaboratively with the pediatric cardiologists
as one of two adult cardiologists at Newark Beth Israel’s Center
for Adults with Congenital Heart Disease. Through his affiliation with
the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, as an associate clinical professor
of medicine, he continues his commitment to academia and research.
In addition to his involvement with the American College of Cardiology,
Dr. Zucker sits on the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Organ & Tissue
Sharing Network and the Transplant Society of New Jersey. He is a member
of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation and
a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and of the American
College of Physicians.
Dr. Zucker earned his law degree from Loyola University School of Law
in Chicago and is licensed to practice law in New York, New Jersey and
Illinois.
An affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, Newark Beth
Israel is one of only 80 facilities in the United States to provide
a full range of cardiac services including diagnostic cardiology, highly
specialized cardiac surgery and the latest treatments for heart failure.
Minimally invasive coronary artery bypass graft, beating heart surgery,
valve surgery, robotic surgery and transmyocardial revascularization
are among the surgical options available to adult candidates. Advanced
heart failure treatment includes heart transplantation and mechanical
support devices. An Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program, integrative
cardiac medicine and clinical trial-research program complete the offerings.
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center is a 671-bed
tertiary care teaching hospital with specialized services including
heart and kidney transplantation, adult and pediatric cardiac surgery,
hematology/ oncology, general and vascular surgery, behavioral health
services, and maternal/child care. Newark Beth Israel is home to Children’s
Hospital of New Jersey.
Date: January 17, 2005
[ top ] [ back to News Index ]
|
|
|
