Bassett Appoints Director
Of Cardiovascular Services
COOPERSTOWN – Mun K. Hong, a nationally recognized interventional cardiologist, has joined Bassett Healthcare Network as chief of cardiovascular services.
Hong comes to Bassett after three years as chairman of the Department of Cardiology at MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center and, prior to that, he was director of the cardiac catheterization lab and interventional cardiology at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital in Manhattan. Hong also spent seven years as director of cardiovascular intervention and research at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Cornell Campus in New York City.
“We are extremely fortunate to have Mun join the medical group and lead cardiovascular services within the Bassett Heart Care Institute,” said Dr. Steven Heneghan, chief clinical officer.
“My primary goal is to provide the highest quality of care to our patients and to develop additional and innovative ways of meeting the heart care needs of the population served by Bassett Healthcare Network,” says Hong. Finding a “multidisciplinary approach” more beneficial, he also intends to “collaborate closely” with other specialists: vascular surgeons, nephrologists and endocrinologists.
Given the rural nature of Bassett’s eight-county service area, Hong is interested in working with the heart care team to increase access through the capabilities of telemedicine, particularly for patients who lack transportation or have mobility issues that keep them homebound. He’s also hoping to engage patients more proactively in their care to head off preventable conditions.
“I’m an interventional cardiologist by training, but I would prefer that patients don’t need my interventional care. I feel strongly that preventive cardiology must be part of the equation. We need to collaborate with our patients so they understand what can cause heart disease, which risk factors they can modify and how to be healthier.”
Dr. Hong is also nationally known for helping to advance the field of interventional cardiology through research. He has had over 100 articles published in peer-reviewed medical journals.