VALHALLA, NY (November 17, 2021) –Westchester Medical Center Director of Surgery Rifat Latifi, MD, FACS, has been named the Minister of Health for the Republic of Kosovo.
Westchester Medical Center is initiating a search for Dr. Latifi's replacement as he accepts his new role to be based in Kosovo. Steven Lansman, MD, currently Medical Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery, will serve as interim director.
Dr. Latifi joined Westchester Medical Center, the flagship of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) in 2016, bringing with him surgical expertise in trauma, general surgery, and critical care with special interests in complex re-operative surgery, and nutritional support of critically ill patients. During his tenure as Director of Surgery at Westchester Medical Center, the surgery program has expanded its geographic reach and continues to specialize in advanced surgical services such as organ transplantation, burn, Level I adult and pediatric trauma, cardiac, thoracic, acute care surgery and more.
"Shortly after his arrival Dr. Latifi explained he would lead the Department of Surgery by honoring the past while building for the future, and began the geographic expansion of the program by recruiting surgeons with advanced training in their field to our organization," said Renee Garrick, MD, Chief Medical Officer, WMCHealth. "We thank Dr. Latifi for his contributions, wish him luck in his important new role and look forward to identifying Westchester Medical Center's next Director of Surgery."
"I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to build the surgical services at WMCHealth during the past six years," said Dr. Latifi. "My colleagues are among the best in the world and I know that I am leaving our community and patients in talented hands. The support of our organization and team as I accept this new professional challenge has been touching and gratifying."
Dr. Latifi is known internationally as an advocate for healthcare in developing nations, particularly the delivery of advanced medicine services to underserved nations via telemedicine. He has spent the last two decades building telemedicine networks around the world that enable physicians to care for patients remotely.
About Westchester Medical Center, the flagship of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network
Westchester Medical Center is the premier provider of advanced medical care in New York's Hudson Valley region. The flagship of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, this 415-bed academic hospital located in Valhalla, New York, provides local residents with acute care services – Level I trauma and burn care, organ transplants, Comprehensive Stroke Center and more - found nowhere else in the region. Westchester Medical Center is the primary referral facility for other hospitals in the Hudson Valley and serves as a lifeline for more than 2.4 million people. To learn more about Westchester Medical Center and the vital services it provides to residents of the Hudson Valley and beyond, visit WestchesterMedicalCenter.org or follow Westchester Medical Center at Facebook.com/WestchesterMedicalCenter or Twitter.com/WestchesterMed.
About Westchester Medical Center Health Network
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, with 10 hospitals on eight campuses spanning 6,200 square miles of the HudsonValley. WMCHealth employs more than 13,000 people and has nearly 3,000 attending physicians. The Network has Level 1, Level 2 and Pediatric Trauma Centers, the region's only acute care children's hospital, an academic medical center, Primary and Comprehensive Stroke Centers, several community hospitals, dozens of specialized institutes and centers, skilled nursing, assisted living facilities, homecare services and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State. Today, WMCHealth is the pre-eminent provider of integrated healthcare in the Hudson Valley. For more information about WMCHealth, visit WMCHealth.org.
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CONTACT:
Andy LaGuardia
914.493.6532
Andrew.LaGuardia@WMCHealth.org