SIUH is a two-campus, 668-bed specialized teaching hospital.[1] Occupying two large campuses, plus a number of community-based health centers and labs, the hospital provides care to the people of Staten Island and the New York metropolitan region.
Dr. Gilbert Lederman became the director of SIUH's radiation oncology department, at age 34. During his tenure, he greatly expanded the department's capacity and installed state-of-the-art equipment, and, "In 1991, Lederman became the first doctor in New York to offer brain radiosurgery."[6] He also aggressively promoted the new treatment, through media advertisements, interviews, presentations at the hospital, attended by "groups of grateful formal patients" (later dubbed "Lederman clubs" and likened to medicine shows, by trial attorney Jonathan Behrins), and an international tour, comprising Lederman's travels to "Italy, England, Israel, and many other countries to speak to prospective patients and examine their CT scans on the spot."[6] The hospital ultimately "started an International Patient Program and opened an office in Naples, Italy. Soon, sick people from all over the world were flying in. Even an ailing Beatle (George Harrison) was willing to give the magic ray gun a shot. Lederman was summoned to the Harrisons’ Swiss villa to make his case for treatment."[6] In November 2001, Harrison began radiotherapy at Staten Island University Hospital, in New York City, for non-small cell lung cancer that had spread to his brain.[7] When the news was publicised, Harrison bemoaned his physician's breach of privacy, and his estate later claimed damages. Harrison's estate later complained that during a round of experimental radiotherapy at Staten Island University Hospital, Lederman repeatedly revealed Harrison's confidential medical information during television interviews and forced him to autograph a guitar.[8][9][6]: 331 [a]
The South Campus was originally the Richmond Memorial Hospital in Prince's Bay, Staten Island. It gained its current name when it merged with the Staten Island Hospital during the 1980s. It is located at 375 Seguine Avenue.
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Gallery
Smith's Infirmary HospitalHeart Lung Surgery BuildingWest entrance of the South Campus
Notes
^The suit was ultimately settled out of court under the condition that the guitar be "disposed of".[10]
^Doggett, Peter (2009). You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup. HarperCollins. pp. 330–331. ISBN978-0-06-177418-8.
^Civil Action CV040033 (NGG) (PDF), Complaint, United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, The Estate of George Harrison v Gilbert Lederman. The allegations about the autograph appear on page 10 of the Complaint.
