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Another distinguished institute on "The Avenue" is Hospital for Special Surgery (www.hss.edu). Founded in 1863, it is the oldest and one of the most renowned orthopedic and rheumatic disease hospitals in the United States. HSS is ranked first in orthopedics, and third in rheumatology by U.S. News & World Report in its “America’s Best Hospitals” survey in 2007. Special Surgery was the only New York hospital re-designated with Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Service from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. In the 2006 edition of HealthGrades' Hospital Quality in America Study, HSS received five-star ratings for clinical excellence in its specialties.
The hospital's research division is internationally recognized as a leader in the investigation of musculoskeletal and autoimmune diseases. As an affiliate of WCMC, all of its 107 faculty have joint appointments with Weill Cornell Medical College. Its mission is to be an innovative source of medical care, and a leading research institution particularly in orthopedics, rheumatology, rehabilitation and their related disciplines. In addition, it is one of the largest device implant centers in the country and has the largest Division of Rheumatology in the country. The Division of Rheumatology is part of the Department of Medicine of WCMC.
Recognized as a world leader in musculoskeletal medicine, Hospital for Special Surgery pioneered the first total knee replacement and the development of minimally invasive spine surgery techniques, eliminating the need for spinal fusion. It also perfected surgical techniques for minimally invasive hip and knee procedures and designed a revolutionary fiberoptic probe for distinguishing healthy and diseased cartilage during surgery. It is one of two medical institutions designated by the National Institutes of Health as a Core Center for Skeletal Integrity. Its physician scientists have made significant contributions to developing new therapies for patients with systemic autoimmune disease through their identification of the role of the complement system, type I interferon, and T and B lymphocytes in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and related diseases. Its strength lies in the unmatched experience of its physicians and clinical staff, the close collaboration between physicians and research scientists, and the knowledge accessible from nearly 140 years of familiarity with essentially every known musculoskeletal disease.
HSS is a 162-bed facility with 26 operating rooms, 271 medical staff, and 82 scientists. There are approximately 37 fellows trained in HSS every year. In 2006, there were 249,878 patient visits for HSS services and 18,494 surgeries. It has approximately 7,400 admissions per year; 800 of whom are admitted to the Rheumatology Service. 8,300 new rheumatology patients are seen in the ambulatory setting and there are 33,500 revisits.
Since the inception of an academic program in rheumatology in 1945, HSS has shown a steady and continual research commitment by building and expanding a research base that is fully integrated with clinical activities in rheumatic diseases, and by providing a strong environment for successful translational research focused on the human system. It offers four basic research programs: autoimmunity and inflammation; arthritis and tissue degeneration; musculoskeletal integrity and tissue engineering; regeneration and repair. These programs are supported by cores in analytical microscopy, flow cytometry, infrared imaging and mechanical testing. In addition to traditional basic science laboratories, the programs support interdisciplinary teams of clinicians, clinical and translational investigators, and basic scientists in the areas of osteolysis and prosthetic loosening, bone healing, and soft tissue remodeling.
HSS is one of the largest centers for SLE research in the country and has registries and repositories that include clinical information and samples from over 700 SLE and 800 rheumatoid arthritis patients. The Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Research provides support for novel intramural basic and clinical research at HSS, supporting pilot and feasibility studies.
In 2003, HSS was designated a center of excellence by the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) in recognition of its successful promotion of collaboration among basic and clinical scientists studying immune-mediated diseases. The goal is to identify the mechanisms underlying musculoskeletal and autoimmune diseases and to translate these findings to develop effective approaches for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of these disorders. The research focus includes: arthritis, injury, osteoporosis, scoliosis, autoimmune diseases such as lupus, and related musculoskeletal diseases, as they affect children and adults.
HSS has multi-disciplinary groups or centers in: computational biomechanics, computer-aided surgery to develop and validate surgical navigation and medical robotics, osteoporosis prevention, interdisciplinary study of pathogenesis and treatment of osteoarthritis, wound and bone healing. HSS also has an osteolysis translation center, composed of a team of orthopedic surgeons and basic scientists working to understand the disease, which is a leading complication of total hip arthroplasty.
In addition, a five-year, multimillion-dollar grant was received from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to establish a Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERT), with a focus on therapeutic medical devices. The study is a collaborative effort between the Arthroplasty Service at Hospital for Special Surgery and clinical researchers both at Special Surgery and Weill Cornell Medical College. The CERT grant supports research to evaluate the uses and success of prosthetic orthopedic devices. A comprehensive prospective Total Joint Replacement Registry is being developed to collect data to address questions regarding outcomes, variations, and economic impacts of total joint surgeries. This is the first external major funding of this magnitude for clinical research at Hospital for Special Surgery and a landmark accomplishment.
HSS is launching a $100 million campaign called Building on Success: the Campaign for the Future of Hospital for Special Surgery to meet patients’ needs and forge new treatments for the future. Attracting the best and brightest medical, clinical, and scientific minds is the goal of this campaign. It includes new clinical facilities and a robust program of clinical and health outcomes research to evaluate the effectiveness of patients’ treatment and recovery to advance musculoskeletal care.
