STATEN ISLAND NATIVE DR. CHRISTOPHER VARUGHESE RETURNED TO HIS HOME BOROUGH TO HELP TRANSFORM STATEN ISLAND UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL AT NORTHWELL’S HEART PROGRAM EXPANDING ADVANCED, MINIMALLY INVASIVE, AND SUBSPECIALTY CARDIAC SERVICES SO PATIENTS CAN RECEIVE WORLDCLASS, PERSONALIZED CARE CLOSE TO HOME

BY AMANDA McCOY PHOTOS BY AMESSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Christopher Varughese, MD, found his professional calling early in life. While growing up on Staten Island, he was fascinated by all facets of medicine and healing, and spent his summers volunteering in Staten Island University Hospital’s ER, making beds and restocking supplies. Driven by his clear vision, the aspiring physician completed a combined BA/ MD program at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C., finishing in six years instead of the usual eight. After residency and specialized training at NYC’s Mount Sinai Hospital in interventional cardiology, he knew all roads would eventually guide him back to his home borough, where his passion for health and healing were first ignited.

“This work is deeply personal for me,” noted Dr. Varughese, who today serves as the director of Cardiology at Staten Island University Hospital Prince’s Bay (formally known as South). “As someone who grew up on Staten Island and trained in NYC, I know the caliber of care that exists across the bridge, and we have that here without sacrificing the community focus and level of trust.”

Upon his homecoming in 2015, Dr. Varughese launched his private practice, where he remained until 2022 when he was approached by his mentor and colleague, Mitchell Weinberg, MD, SIUH’s newly appointed chair of Cardiology, about joining the hospital’s leadership team. (When Dr. Varughese was practicing as an independent physician, he had hospitalgranted privileges to see patients from SIUH’s facilities.) Under Dr. Weinberg’s stewardship, SIUH’s cardiology program was on the brink of massive expansion, with several initiatives in the works to provide more comprehensive, life-saving services close to home. Dr. Varughese leapt at the opportunity to take part in the transformation.

“I’ve known Dr. Weinberg for a long time, and we’ve always shared a similar vision and area of focus,” noted Dr. Varughese. “I saw what he wanted to accomplish here – to expand subspecialty and minimally invasive services so that SIUH can compete with any world-class academic center – and I wanted to be a part of that change.”

Over the last few years, the cardiology program at SIUH has indeed undergone substantial growth at both the North and Prince’s Bay campuses, including upgraded catheterization labs, enhanced imaging capabilities with new state-of-the-art tech, expanded heart failure and rehabilitation programs, and more. Today, SIUH patients have access to the full spectrum of cutting-edge heart services, from prevention and diagnostics to intervention and rehabilitation. For Dr. Varughese, the upgrades to Prince’s Bay have been particularly rewarding.

“Since taking this role at Prince’s Bay, my excitement revolves around bringing more advanced services to the South campus that weren’t available before,” he said. “We are growing every subspecialty within cardiology here; we now have specialists in imaging, heart failure, and electrophysiology, so patients have the same level of consultation and specialty services that are available in the North or any tertiary institution.”

As Dr. Varughese explained, like many areas of medicine, the field of cardiology is rapidly advancing, notably within the realm of minimally invasive interventions.

“Therapies for stents have dramatically improved,” he said. “Patients who, ten years ago, would’ve needed open bypass surgery for vascular disease can now be treated minimally invasively, which means patients can return to their daily activities much more quickly.”

The hospital also actively participates in clinical trials for novel therapies with the goal of keeping care close to home.

“We are a community hospital, so we’ve always practiced with a personalized approach,” added Dr. Varughese. “With that foundation, we are blending intimate, community care with all the cutting-edge innovation available to us within the Northwell system.”

Dr. Varughese took his new post as director of Cardiology at SIUH Prince’s Bay in January, an appointment he said holds significant meaning as he is following in the footsteps of the highly respected cardiologist Dr. Leonard Lefkovic, who is credited with building the heart program at Prince’s Bay.

“It’s an honor to take the torch from Dr. Lefkovic,” said Dr. Varughese. “Today, we’re continuing to build upon the foundation he laid. A common misconception I still encounter is the idea that you must leave the borough and go into Manhattan to receive great care, but we’re proving that you can have both world-class and personalized care in your neighborhood. As someone who grew up on Staten Island, every patient feels like family. To be given the opportunity to give back to the community that always gave to me is the biggest reward of my career.”

Northwell Health Physician Partners Cardiology at Victory Blvd 2384

Victory Blvd 718.727.7546 / siuh.northwell.edu/heart-institute/cardiology