St. Lukes Roosevelt HCM Center

[sligoker]

Have any of you any experience with this HCM center in NYC? I know it has a good reputation but they seem overwhelmed with all the patients and lack of staffing on the assigned HCM floor.

[elmatt]

I have been to St. Luke's numerous times and go back for yearly evaluations. It is a very busy office and you will probably wait long after your scheduled time to be seen by Dr. Sherrid...but it is becuase he doesn't rush any of the patients and will do the same thing for you.

[sligoker]

Have I got a story to tell you about St. Lukes and the great Dr. Sherrid. My aunt went in their on the brink of death with a gradient of about 200! After being treated with a cocktail of drugs, her gradient is now 15 and she has huge reduction in shortness of breath, dizziness etc. Sherrid was fantastic, gave her plenty of time after her last echo, and delivered the great news! The problem with St. Lukes is that they have completely filled up their psychiatric ward, and are now placing psychiatric patients throughout the hospital. It is really wearing the nurses and staff thin, but I guess its part and parcel of the demise of our health care system. Anyhow, Dr. Sherrid and his associates are fantastic. My aunt has been given her life back, and we are so grateful.

[Reenie]

Wow, what a story! I'm so happy your aunt is feeling so much better.

Reenie

[babygeorgie]

what a wonderful story (smiling) god bless

[rgong]

Sorry to jump in late in this thread. Dr. Sherrid at St. Luke's is now my "HCM guy" so like Elmatt I have been there a number of times. And like Elmatt said, while it is a busy office, I have *never* felt rushed during any of my visits with Dr. Sherrid, which is quite different than any other experience I've had with managed care (i.e. a doctor in an insurance plan). He will take as much time as both you and he need to take, whether it's answering your questions, or reviewing tapes of your echocardiogram with you, or whatever. I feel very fortunate to have found the St. Luke's HCM center.

Rich G

[nytoolman]

Unfortunately my experience with Dr. Sherrid was not a wonderful experience and would not recommend him. After going through a septal myectomy with mitral valve repair and a new aortic valve replacement (on June 5, 2007) his office refused to make an appointment within the three weeks after surgery. Before, I left St. Luke's he insisted that he had to see me within the first 2-3weeks. His practice is so large that he has no openings and refuses to make room for his surgery patients. His office is either understaffed or his staff needs additional training on politeness. I was given an appointment that was seven weeks after surgery that was later canceled and confirmed at 10 weeks plus a day. He doesn't like to have his schedule interrupted. I canceled the appointment and have continued to see my non HCM Cardiologist. When I left St. Luke's, they failed to remove my stitches from the ICD. I would highly recommend Daniel G. Swistel, MD chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and his staff. He provided excellent care. I was fortunate to have him as my surgeon.

[rgong]

nytoolman,

Sorry to hear about your negative experience with Dr. Sherrid's office. His practice is quite large, probably due to the fact that he is the only HCM specialist in the NYC metro area. I suppose the alternative is that he could turn patients away, but I'm sure glad he didn't turn me away last September when I first saw him. It was through him that I learned about Dr. Swistel, who did my myectomy and mitral valve repair in April. And that's made all the difference.

You may feel differently, but I think your negative experience can be attributed to the general patient load of his practice. The practice may also need to recalibrate its policies -- e.g., post-op patients get higher priority, even if recovering without complications. I experienced complications (fever, arrhythmia) 2-3 weeks post-op and had little problem getting squeezed into his schedule, even though I had a scheduled follow-up appointment 4 weeks after surgery. I'm guessing that if you had any significant post-op complications, they would've found a way to get you in to see him

As far as Dr. Sherrid himself, I've always found him to be quite helpful, and I've never felt rushed when at my appointments. This has not always been my experience with other cardio's (non-HCM) at smaller practices. I have learned, however, that more often than not I'll have to wait a bit when I come in to see Dr. Sherrid, precisely because he's giving his other patients the time they need. And once I schedule an appointment, I had better do everything I can to keep my schedule clear so I won't have to reschedule.

I guess we can only report what we've experienced, and your experience is certainly a legitimate data point. Outside of traveling to Boston or Cleveland, I would still recommend that folks in the NYC metro area looking for an HCM specialist give Dr. Sherrid a try first. If it doesn't work out, then phone the HCMA office to get recommendations for other cardio's and/or other HCM centers.

[richkk]

I just got back from New York and met with Dr. Sherrid. Since I've been back home, he's even called me to answer a concern regarding my upcoming ICD surgery next week! The office management needs some improvement but thats not the doctor. They were actually very friendly to me. Dr. Sherrid really spent a tremendous amount of time with me and educated me about my particular problem.

[randsean]

Does Dr. Sherrid see pediatric patients (under 5)? My insurance company recently expanded their network to include him as a provider. Any advise would be much appreciated. I will review old postings as well.

Thanks,

Sean

[randsean]

FYI, I heard back from Dr. Sherrid, and he does not see pediatric patients. He recommended Dr. Daphne Hsu in New York.

[rgong]

Sean, since your location is listed as CT and you were exploring NYC options, I'm assuming you're closer to NYC than Boston, but... some folks on the board have posted about good experiences in taking their kids with HCM to NEMC. So even if you're south of the Yankees/Red Sox fault line, have you considered taking your son to Boston?

[Pam Alexson]

I agree, a trip to NEMC would be a great trip.

Pam

[donnag]

Sean,
We live in CT and are going to NEMC (Tufts) in Boston next month. They have been terrific over the phone. Good luck.

[randsean]

I have heard really great things about NEMC. All of the New York hospitals are in-network with for our health plan. To go to Boston we have to get out of network permission, which basically entails proving that there aren't in-network providers that are HCM specialists... I didn't want to ignore Dr. Sherrid as a possiblity, but he doesn't see children...

Thanks,

Sean