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NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center has received the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) Award for Excellence in Life Support, a recognition of its outstanding life support program. The award honors centers that demonstrate an exceptional commitment to evidence-based processes and quality measures, staff training and continuing education, patient satisfaction and ongoing clinical care.

NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center provides ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), also known as ECLS (extracorporeal life support), for support of failing organ systems in infants, children and adults. ECLS is among the most advanced forms of life support available to patients experiencing acute failure of the cardio-respiratory system, allowing time for the patient’s lungs or heart to heal by using a heart-lung machine to oxygenate the blood outside the body. Hospital clinical staff use the machine as a lifesaving measure to help patients recover from conditions such as acute heart failure, cardiogenic shock, or life-threatening acute respiratory failure.

“We are incredibly honored to receive this prestigious award recognizing the service we provide to these critically ill patients at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center,” said Dr. Erin M. Iannacone, director of ECMO at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and assistant professor of clinical cardiothoracic surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. “This award demonstrates our exceptional commitment to our patients in need of the highest level of life support. These services require a real team effort across disciplines, and this designation is particularly poignant given the immense dedication of our multidisciplinary teams in the face of the pandemic.”

As a recipient of the Gold Level Center of Excellence Award, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center earned the designation by meeting specific guidelines for processes, training, and education that contributes to a healing environment for families, patients and staff.

ELSO is an international non-profit consortium of health care centers and individuals who are dedicated to the development, evaluation and improvement of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and other innovative therapies for support of failing organ systems in the neonate, child and adult.

ELSO is made up of a broad multidisciplinary collaboration of physicians, nurses, perfusionists, respiratory therapists, technicians, researchers, and industry experts. Global chapters of ELSO provide education and expertise in ECMO delivery around the world.