FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VALHALLA, N.Y. (July 5, 2016) – Westchester Medical Center welcomes Rifat Latifi, MD, FACS, an internationally renowned surgeon, as Director of the Department of Surgery and Chief of General Surgery at Westchester Medical Center, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital and MidHudson Regional Hospital, all Members of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth).
In his new role, Dr. Latifi will oversee all surgical operations in nearly every specialty, including general, trauma, cardiac, vascular, thoracic, transplant, pediatric and minimally invasive surgery. Dr. Latifi's mission is to guide the department's continued growth using the most advanced technologies available and to encourage a research and evidence-based multidisciplinary approach across departments to provide the highest quality patient-centered care.
Dr. Latifi brings expertise in general surgery, particularly complex abdominal wall hernias, advanced laparoscopy, acute care surgery, trauma and surgical critical care, as well as telemedicine. He is the author/editor of 13 books in complex surgery, nutrition and telemedicine.
Most recently, Dr. Latifi served as a Professor of Surgery and Vice-Chairman for International Relations in the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ.
Board certified in general surgery and surgical critical care surgery, Dr. Latifi has served in leadership roles internationally, including an appointment as Director of the Trauma Center at Hamad General Hospital, the only Level I trauma center in Doha, Qatar.
Dr. Latifi earned his medical degree from the University of Prishtina in Prishtina, Kosovo, completed a residency in General Surgery at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, and a surgical critical care fellowship at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx.
In his leisure time, Dr. Latifi enjoys spending time with his family, participating in outdoor sports, and traveling internationally. He has visited every continent except Antarctica, where he plans to visit later this year.
About Westchester Medical Center, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network
Westchester Medical Center is the premier provider of advanced medical care in New York's Hudson Valley region. The flagship of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, this 895-bed academic hospital located in Valhalla, New York, provides local residents with acute care services - Level I trauma and burn care, organ transplants and advanced neurovascular procedures and more - found nowhere else in the region. Westchester Medical Center is the primary referral facility for other hospitals in the Hudson Valley and serves as a lifeline for more than 3.5 million people. To learn more about Westchester Medical Center and the vital services it provides to residents of the Hudson Valley and beyond, visit www.WestchesterMedicalCenter.org or follow Westchester Medical Center at www.Facebook.com/WestchesterMedicalCenter or www.Twitter.com/WestchesterMed.
About Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth)
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, with 10 hospitals on eight campuses spanning 6,200 square miles of the Hudson Valley. WMCHealth employs more than 12,000 people and has nearly 3,000 attending physicians. From Level 1, Level 2 and Pediatric Trauma Centers, the region's only acute care children's hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals, dozens of specialized institutes and centers, skilled nursing, assisted living facilities, homecare services and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State, today WMCHealth is the pre-eminent provider of integrated healthcare in the Hudson Valley. For more information about WMCHealth, visit www.WMCHealth.org.
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