Stony Brook Cardiothoracic Surgeon Receives American Heart Association’s Distinguished Service Award

James R. Taylor Jr., MD, left, Co-Director of Stony Brook University Heart Institute, holds the American Heart Association’s Distinguished Service Award along with Henry Woo, MD, of Stony Brook University Neuroscience Institute, a member of the AHA’s Long Island Regional Board of Directors and co-chair of the AHA’s 17th annual Heart of the Hamptons Ball.

STONY BROOK, N.Y., July 15, 2013 – James R. Taylor Jr., MD, Professor and Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stony Brook University School of Medicine and Co-Director of Stony Brook University Heart Institute, received the Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to improving the heart health of Long Islanders at the American Heart Association’s 17th annual Heart of the Hamptons Ball on June 29.
 
Dr. Taylor has served as Co-Director of Stony Brook’s Heart Institute since 2012 and has spent more than 20 years performing cardiothoracic surgery on Long Island. In receiving the award, which recognized his contributions and commitment to furthering the mission of the AHA, he thanked the Heart Institute staff, his fellow physicians and his family for their support in allowing him to serve his patients.
 
Dr. Taylor was introduced by Henry Woo, MD, of Stony Brook University Neurosciences Institute, who co-chaired the AHA event and is a member of the AHA’s Long Island Regional Board of Directors. Dr. Taylor acknowledged Dr. Woo as a peer who influenced him to come to Stony Brook in 2012 after Dr. Taylor witnessed Stony Brook’s commitment to building the Neurosciences Institute – a model he plans to follow in the Heart Institute’s development into a leading regional referral center for cardiac care.
 
Dr. Taylor is one of 19 Stony Brook affiliated doctors recently named among New York’s “Best Doctors” by New York magazine. He is one of the highest-volume cardiac surgeons in New York State, and one of the safest, as indicated by risk-adjusted mortality statistics published by the New York State Department of Health Cardiac Surgical database. His cardiac surgical experience includes coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, thoracic aortic disease, and minimally invasive cardiac surgery.
 
Prior to joining Stony Brook, Dr. Taylor served as Vice Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery at St. Francis Hospital and Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital. He received his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina, followed by residencies in general and cardiothoracic surgery at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, where he served as chief resident and completed his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship. He is board certified in cardiothoracic surgery.
 
Along with Harold Fernandez, MD, and William Lawson, MD, he serves as Co-Director of Stony Brook Heart Institute, which is Long Island’s only university-based cardiovascular program. The Heart Institute is the region’s leading referral center for clinically complex cardiac care, with a comprehensive, multidisciplinary program for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
 
The AHA provides more than $16 million in grants to hospitals and other institutions on Long Island through 74 grants. Stony Brook University Hospital is currently among those receiving aid, along with SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. The June 29 event raised $500,000 for the AHA.
 
“The success of the relationship between the American Heart Association and Stony Brook Medicine continues through our ongoing relationship and our research endeavors,” said Barbara Poliwoda,
Regional Director of the American Heart Association.
 

 
About Stony Brook University Heart Institute:

Stony Brook University Heart Institute is located within Stony Brook University Hospital as part of Long Island’s premier university-based medical center. The Heart Institute offers a comprehensive, multidisciplinary program for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. The staff includes 50 full-time and community-based, board-certified cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons, as well as 350 specially trained anesthesiologists, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, surgical technologists, perfusionists, and other support staff. Their combined expertise provides state-of-the-art interventional and surgical capabilities in 24-hour cardiac catheterization labs and surgical suites. And while the Heart Institute clinical staff offers the latest advances in medicine, its physician-scientists are also actively enhancing knowledge of the heart and blood vessels through basic biomedical studies and clinical research. To learn more, visit www.heart.stonybrookmedicine.edu.
 

© Stony Brook University 2013