Aaron M. Winnick, MD

Niraj Desai, MD, is an adult and pediatric transplant surgeon and director of the Center for Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation at the Northwell Transplant Institute. Previously, he served as director of the kidney and pancreas transplant program at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and director of pancreas transplant at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.Dr. Desai first found a passion for transplantation surgery while he was doing immunology research during medical school at the University of Pennsylvania. As transplant surgeons, we spend a lot of time being immunologists, fighting the immune system just enough to prevent rejection but also avoid infection. It's a fascinating field.After more than 14 years at Johns Hopkins, the opportunity to help build a program at a large health care system with an extensive patient base and geographic reach is what drew Dr. Desai to Northwell in 2024. There is so much potential here at Northwell for innovative care for the transplant recipient. We have a few notable advantages. Foremost is having so many top-notch specialists with years of full-time, real-world clinical experience all together under one roof. Our team has seen all the different things that might come up for a patient, he said. Yet for a large program with vast resources, we feel like a small, close-knit group of colleagues. I have immediate access to all the medical specialists as well as dieticians, social workers, pharmacists and administrators for evaluations, follow-up appointments and beyond. This embedded proximity and everyday communication is something the institute does really well.Frequent and open communication is not only a top priority at the institute, but also with outside partner physicians. One part of my job is doing outreach and meeting with nephrologists in person. Kidney patients see us at the Transplant Institute for about a year, but the relationship between our nephrologists and the patient's doctor continues as long as they're alive. We're in it for the long haul.

“I’m reminded on a daily basis of why I love this job.”Dr. Alan Hartman is the senior vice president and executive director of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at Northwell Health. In this pivotal position, Dr. Hartman is at the helm of one of New York’s busiest and most successful cardiothoracic departments, which includes programs at the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital at North Shore University Hospital, Southside Hospital, Lenox Hill Hospital and Staten Island University Hospital.With more than 30 years of surgical experience and a stellar reputation for taking high risk cases others have turned down, Dr. Hartman is one of New York’s most sought after cardiac surgeons. He is routinely ranked by the New York State Department of Health, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and other organizations for having among the state’s best outcomes in cardiac surgery. His areas of expertise include aortic and mitral valve surgery, aortic aneurysm surgery, coronary artery surgery, pulmonary thromboembolic surgery and critical care. Dr. Hartman’s teams treat some of the largest numbers of aortic dissections in the region because of exceptional expertise and medical transport capabilities.Dr. Hartman realized his passion for medicine when he was in high school. A genuine love of science coupled with his yearning to help people in need led to afternoons volunteering at local hospitals. Around the same time, his father passed away at a young age, bolstering his determination to get into the medical field and make a profound difference in people’s lives.That difference is particularly evident in Dr. Hartman’s impactful role in opening the Heart Hospital in Manhasset, which offers the first and only full-service heart transplant program on Long Island and in Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. The Heart Hospital is a premier destination for quaternary cardiac care—from minimally invasive procedures to the most complex, life-changing heart transplants—and it exemplifies Dr. Hartman’s vision of making advanced cardiac care accessible to people in all the communities served by Northwell.Dr. Hartman is especially proud of the focused care and attention he and his teams offer patients and their families—before, during and after surgery. This is one of the reasons he helped create the Follow Your Heart program, which sends skilled medical professionals to patients’ homes to help with recovery after cardiac surgery and keep hospital readmissions down.Dr. Hartman is a professor and the Barbash Family endowed chair of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. He’s also a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons. He has continually received recognition on New York magazine’s Top Doctors list, and his significant publication contributions include areas such as pulmonary thromboembolic disease, repair of left atrial esophageal fistula and transcather aortic valve replacement (TAVR) outcomes. Dr. Hartman also participates in research and clinical trials to offer patients the latest cardiac treatment options.With a decades-long career of outstanding achievements and a continuous dedication to raising the bar in cardiac care, Dr. Hartman asserts the most gratifying thing about his job is, quite simply, knowing his patients.“Interacting with them, and getting to know them and their families, is what is most satisfying for me,” he says. He adds that while some in the medical field may become hardened after many years of practice, he feels just the opposite.“I think my colleagues and I have become more humbled,” Dr. Hartman says. “We’ll all need health care eventually. That’s why my driving principle has always been to treat everybody with the respect and due diligence that you’d want for yourself and your family.”

Located in Manhasset, NY, Pratibha B Kabrawala, MD - Northwell Health Hospital is part of a leading healthcare organization known for its expansive network of hospitals, outpatient centers, and specialized care units spread across the Greater New York region. This facility offers a diverse range of medical services, from primary care to advanced surgical procedures, urgent care facilities, and cutting-edge diagnostics. With a focus on medical research, education, and community health initiatives, the dedicated professionals at Pratibha B Kabrawala, MD - Northwell Health Hospital strive to enhance patient care and healthcare outcomes. They actively engage in innovation, clinical trials, and partnerships aimed at fostering wellness and quality healthcare within the local communities they serve, reflecting their commitment to excellence and continuous improvement. Generated using this brand's available information