Northwell completes revamp of cancer care leadership

New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health has completed a revamp of the clinical leadership in its cancer care unit, the health care giant said Monday.

Northwell said it has appointed three deputy physicians-in-chief to lead medical, surgical and radiation oncology across the 23-hospital health system.

Dr. Wasif Saif was named deputy physician-in-chief and director of medical oncology at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute. Saif joined Northwell on Jan. 7 from Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

Dr. Matthew Weiss, who is currently at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, was named deputy physician-in-chief and director of surgical oncology. He will join the Cancer Institute on Feb. 19.

They join Dr. Louis Potters, who has served as chair of radiation medicine at Northwell Health since 2007, and who was appointed last June as deputy physician-in-chief and lead of radiation oncology at the Cancer Institute. 

“These leaders will oversee disease management teams in medical, surgical and radiation oncology throughout our entire cancer network in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County, aligning directly with regional and hospital cancer leaders within their respective disciplines,” said Dr. Richard Barakat, physician-in-chief and director of the Cancer Institute, and senior vice president of Northwell’s Cancer Service Line.

The three oncology heads will report to Dr. Barakat.

Northwell has expanded its focus on cancer care in recent years. For example, it opened the $46.5 million Imbert Cancer Center in Bay Shore in late 2016. It also hired Barakat from Memorial Sloan Kettering in 2018.

There were 18,000 new cases of cancer per year on Long Island, on average, from 2011 through 2015, according to the most recent data available from the state Department of Health. 

Northwell, the largest private employer in the state,  has 68,000 employees.