Mount Sinai South Nassau Launches New Service to Treat Epilepsy

Mount Sinai South Nassau’s comprehensive neurosciences program has expanded to include a new, $2 million Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU). The two-bed EMU will provide specialized diagnostic and monitoring care for people with epilepsy.

“As we developed the plan to expand our neurosciences program and assessed the needs of the community, we recognized a gap in care for people with epilepsy,” said Adhi Sharma, MD, President at Mount Sinai South Nassau. “We made it a priority to open this unit and establish a dedicated program of care for epilepsy. This is part of our overall goal to bring advanced services to the South Shore.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 215,000 New Yorkers are living with active epilepsy; more than 35,000 of them live on Long Island. A disorder of the central nervous system that results in seizures, epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disease affecting an estimated 3 million adults and 470,000 children in the United States. People with epilepsy can suffer from a loss of consciousness or awareness, states of confusion, anxiety, and uncontrolled seizures.

Mount Sinai South Nassau's new $2 million Epilepsy Monitoring Unit will help diagnose and treat epilepsy patients, close to home. The two-bed EMU will provide specialized monitoring for people with epilepsy. David Aharonoff, MD, and Calvin Yu, MD, co-directors of the unit, described the advanced video-electroencephalogram (EEG) diagnostic technology and digital video monitors as well as our multidisciplinary team of specialists , neuroradiologists, nurses, social workers, and EEG technologists.

The EMU is equipped with advanced video-electroencephalogram (EEG) diagnostic technology and digital video monitors and is staffed by a multidisciplinary team of specialists lead by leading epileptologists David Aharonoff, MD, and Calvin Yu, MD, co-directors of the unit, neuroradiologists, nurses, social workers and EEG technologists.

“Led by Drs. Aharonoff and Yu, the staff will take the time that’s needed to understand our patients and the situations that trigger epileptic seizures to develop treatment plans that are tailored to their needs and goals,” said Alan Wong, DO, Chief Medical Officer at Mount Sinai South Nassau. “This will be complemented by comprehensive education so that patients can maximize the benefits of the care and treatments that are provided.”

Patients admitted to the EMU may need to stay for up to five days to undergo EEGs and other tests to diagnose the cause, characteristics, and location of their epileptic seizures. An EEG is non-invasive and is performed with electrodes attached to the scalp to measure the electrical activity of the brain. Patients’ antiseizure medication prescriptions may be adjusted by physicians prior to or upon admission to the EMU to trigger a seizure during monitoring.

During their stay in the Unit, patients receive continuous supervision. If a seizure occurs, the EEG and digital video monitors help physicians in identifying whether the episode is caused by epilepsy and locating its position in the brain. After further investigation and assessment of the testing, the team of specialists develop targeted, patient-centered treatment plans.

About Mount Sinai South Nassau
The Long Island flagship hospital of the Mount Sinai Health System, Mount Sinai South Nassau is designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for outstanding nursing care. Mount Sinai South Nassau is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 455 beds, more than 900 physicians and 3,500 employees. Located in Oceanside, New York, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health, neurology and emergency services and operates the only Trauma Center on the South Shore of Nassau County, along with Long Island’s only free-standing Emergency Department in Long Beach.

In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, Mount Sinai South Nassau provides emergency and elective angioplasty, and offers Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery technologies. Mount Sinai South Nassau operates the only Trauma Center on the South Shore of Nassau County verified by the American College of Surgeons as well as Long Island’s only free-standing, 9-1-1 receiving Emergency Department in Long Beach. Mount Sinai South Nassau also is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons; is an accredited center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality Improvement Program; and an Infectious Diseases Society of America Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence. For more information, go to www.mountsinai.org/southnassau.