Episcopal Health Services expands primary care on the peninsula

Episcopal Health Services has expanded primary care services at its new Walsh Ambulatory Pavilion, adding physicians and building closer ties to specialists so patients on the Rockaway Peninsula and in surrounding communities can get more care without leaving the area, according to the Nassau Herald. Hospital leaders said the goal is to catch chronic conditions early rather than treat them once they become emergencies.

Dr. Ravi Gupta, chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at Episcopal Health Services, said the peninsula has disproportionately high rates of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and high cholesterol, conditions that often show no symptoms until they are advanced. He said residents have historically had to leave the peninsula to see specialists, and many still do not realize how much care is now available locally. The Walsh Pavilion brings primary care doctors and specialists into one building, so patients needing further evaluation can often be referred within the same location instead of traveling into Queens or elsewhere in Nassau County.

Dr. Zubin Tharayil, director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, said many patients wait until a condition is severe enough to require hospitalization before seeking care. He said routine visits let doctors track blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar before complications set in, and that barriers to preventive care go beyond insurance to include a lack of awareness that screening can stop problems before they start. Physicians pointed to colonoscopies, mammograms and low-dose CT scans for smokers as tools that can catch cancer at earlier, more treatable stages, and said blood tests can flag prediabetes before permanent damage occurs.