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"At that time, the technolog y cost between $1.2 million and $1.4 million," Dr. Lam says. "This was a significant investment, but adding the technology made sense because of the tremendous ser v ice we would be able to of fer to the community." After Dr. Lam and the other Crouse surgeons presented data on how and why the hospital should consider a new robotic surgery program, hospital administra- tion gave the technology their stamp of approval, fully supporting the surgeons' vision of bringing the leading-edge tech- nology to Crouse. T h e p u r c h a s e o f t h e h o s p i t a l 's f irst da Vinci robot in 2008 was just the beginning. TEAMWORK John Nicholson, MD, colon and recta l surgeon at Crouse Hea lth, graduated with honors from SUNY Upstate Medical Universit y in Sy racuse in 1973. A s a highly skilled surgeon, Dr. Nicholson was one of the first in the area to be trained on the da Vinci system. "Crouse Hea lt h's st ate-of-t he-a r t technology wouldn't be what it is today if it hadn't been for the efforts of the staff and the support of the administration," Dr. Nicholson says. "When the robotics program first launched, it was considered a badge of honor for nurses to be on the robotics team, so those who were selected worked ver y ha rd to ensure that the program was successful." While the robotic technology is the same at every hospital, the quality of the surgeons using the technology is what really matters. "Crouse Health has the right staff and the right surgeons with the right train- ing," Dr. Lam says. "That is the recipe for success." The Crouse Instit ute for R obotic Surgery has continued to progress since its inception. "Every few years a newer version of the technology is available," Dr. Lam says. "Our administration helps us stay up to date on the newest technolog y, which allows us to offer the most advanced care possible to our patients." EXPANDING THE TEAM B e nja m i n S a d o w it z , M D, FAC S , a board-certified general surgeon, joined CNY Surgical Physicians (now known as Crouse Medical Practice – General Surgery) in 2015. He completed his fel- lowship in advanced gastrointestina l and hepatopancreaticobiliary surgery at Florida Hospital Tampa. Currently, Dr. Sa dow it z la rgely specia l i zes i n robotic general surgery, which includes gallbladder, hernia, colon, appendix and anti-reflux procedures. Dr. Sadowitz has f irsthand experi- ence of just how efficient the teamwork is at Crouse. "About 18 months ago, we grew from two to four robotic systems at Crouse. Logistica lly, we needed to train a sig- nif ica nt number of sta ff members to get a ll four systems up and running," Dr. Sadowitz says. "We had a large group of OR staff — technicians, nurses and physician assistants — undergo training. Our robotics coordinator, Lisa Miller, our Director of Perioperative Services, Jill " It's vital to undergo the right preparation and training before using robotic surgical technology. Crouse Health provides great training for the surgeons, both the experienced surgeons and the new surgeons and residents, as well as the rest of the team." — PO LAM, MD, BOARD-CERTIFIED UROLOGIST AT CROUSE HEALTH Meet the Team CROUSE HE A LTH FE ATURE S the largest multispecialty robotic surgery program in Central New York. GENER AL SURGERY Akbar Ahmed, MD Kenneth Cooper, DO Jeffrey DeSimone, MD Steven Gelb, MD Taewan Kim, MD Benjamin Sadowitz, MD James Sartori, MD COLORECTAL David Nesbitt, MD John Nicholson, MD GYNECOLOGY ONCOLOGY Rinki Agarwal, MD Douglas Bunn, MD Mary Cunningham, MD GYNECOLOGY Stephen Brown, MD Nikole Bucsek, MD Carla Liberatore, MD Myron Luthringer, MD Navpriya Oberoi, MD Byuong Ryu, MD Shane Sopp, MD UROLOGY David Albala, MD Po Lam, MD Hadley Narins, MD Nedim Ruhotina, MD Harvey Sauer, MD Jeffrey Sekula, MD Daniel Welchons, MD BARIATRICS Kenneth Cooper, DO Jeffrey DeSimone, MD Taewan Kim, MD M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C E N T R A L N E W Y O R K ■ 2 0 2 0 0 7