NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst Awarded Designation as Center of Excellence in Lung Cancer Screening
GO2 for Lung Cancer Recognizes Elmhurst Hospital for commitment to highest standards in lung cancer early detection through low dose CT screening
Dec 11, 2025
Elmhurst, NY — NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst has been named a Center of Excellence for Lung Cancer Screening by GO2 for Lung Cancer (GO2) for its ongoing commitment to providing the Queens community with patient-centered, evidence-based lung cancer screening. An estimated 237,000 Americans are diagnosed with lung cancer annually, with most cases found at an advanced stage of the disease. NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst has performed over 1,000 screening CT scans since full implementation of its lung cancer screening program in October 2023. In many cases it has diagnosed patients with the disease early enough that treatment has led to cure.
“We are extremely proud to serve our community and provide life-saving programs such as lung cancer screening,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst’s Chief of Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care Dr. Alfredo Astua. “Despite having accomplished so much, there is much work to be done and lives to be saved. Lung cancer remains the deadliest of cancers in the United States. Each year, lung cancer kills more Americans than breast and colon cancer combined (for women) and prostate and colon combined (for men). If you know of anyone that if between the ages of 50-80, has at least 20 pack years of smoking, is currently smoking or quit in the last 15 years, that person may be eligible for lung cancer screening and is encouraged to talk with a provider.”
“I am immensely proud of our Pulmonary Medicine team for this accomplishment as well as their tireless dedication to our patients,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst CEO Dr. Helen Arteaga. “Our Lung Cancer Screening program is helping save lives and ensure that our community remains healthy and strong.”
“We are proud to have NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst join the community of GO2 for Lung Cancer Centers of Excellence that is national in scope and local in impact,” said GO2 Chief Healthcare Delivery Officer Joelle Fathi. “Across the U.S., the majority of people at risk for or living with lung cancer are served by local community hospitals near their homes. Through the GO2 COE network of community hospitals, clinics, and academic and VA medical centers, we are fostering and supporting essential knowledge sharing and collaboration that brings national and global advancements in early detection, treatment, and care close to home.”
In addition to receiving this newly awarded designation as a Center of Excellence in Lung Cancer Screening, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst is also recognized by GO2 as a Center of Excellence in the following areas:
- Cancer Care, for demonstrating access to standard cancer services within medical, radiation, and surgical oncology and pathology.
- Incidental Pulmonary Nodules, for providing a structured program that captures incidentally found lung nodules from imaging, with a standardized process for patient follow-up and reporting across the health system.
- Biomarker Testing and Precision Medicine, for ensuring access to guideline-directed testing for molecular and immune biomarkers with next-generation sequencing technology in all patients with guideline-eligible tumors to determine eligibility for targeted therapies or immunotherapies.
- Smoking Cessation, for consistently supplying evidence-based smoking cessation services and information across the lung cancer continuum.
- Multidisciplinary Team, for providing a patient-centric multidisciplinary team comprised of a cancer navigator or coordinator and a minimum of three lung cancer disciplines that meet at a regularly scheduled tumor board.
- Survivorship, for facilitating survivorship care plans and resources to improve quality of life among all people with lung cancer.
- Patient-Centric Research, for consistently navigating people with lung cancer to clinical trial opportunities when appropriate.
- Community Engagement, for participating in community outreach to expand lung cancer awareness and education.
- Equity, for demonstrating an approach to lung cancer care that considers diversity, health equity, and inclusion for all community members.
For more information programs and services at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, please call 718-334-4000. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @elmhursthosp.
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Media Contact: Atiya Butler, Director of External Affairs, 917 319-5167, butlerat@nychhc.org
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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, part of the NYC Health + Hospitals health care system, is the major tertiary care provider in the borough of Queens. The 545-bed hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center, an Emergency Heart Care Station, a Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Receiving Center, a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Center of Excellence, and a 911-Receiving Hospital. It is a premiere health care institution offering exceptional services across a wide range of specialties, including surgery, cardiology, women’s health, pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine, renal services, and mental health care. In the past year alone, the hospital received nearly one million ambulatory care visits and over 140,000 emergency room visits, reflecting its essential role in the community. NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst has been nationally ranked and recognized as a “Best Regional Hospital” by U.S. News & World Report in critical areas such as Heart Failure, Heart Attack, Stroke, Hip Fracture, Maternity, Kidney Failure, Orthopedics, Pneumonia, and COPD.
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlusHealth—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 46,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
