NYU Winthrop Launches Department of Physical Medicine and Rehab

NYU Winthrop Hospital announced this week Dr. Lyn Weiss has joined the hospital to lead its Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Weiss brings to the hospital more than 30 years in rehabilitation medicine and is an industry trailblazer who was among the first-ever women to serve as chairman of a hospital's rehabilitation department, according to the hospital.

At NYU Winthrop, she will align the services of the hospital's Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation department with that of NYU Langone's Rusk Rehabilitation, which for 29 consecutive years has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 10 rehabilitation programs in the country.

NYU Winthrop will provide Long Islanders with access to the same type of education, research, and stellar clinical services that have kept Rusk in the elite tier of rehabilitation programs for so long, the hospital said.

"At Rusk Rehabilitation, we've seen the great value of a multidisciplinary team approach to rehabilitation medicine for patients facing not just physical, but social and emotional challenges," says Steven R. Flanagan, MD, the Howard A. Rusk Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine and chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU Langone Health. "We're thrilled that by implementing this patient-centered model under Dr. Weiss's leadership, our colleagues at NYU Winthrop will further expand Howard Rusk's legacy."

Prior to joining NYU Winthrop, Dr. Weiss was Chairman and Director of Residency Training for the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Nassau University Medical Center, where she was also Director of Electrodiagnostic Medicine and Chair of the Ethics Committee. She is Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation as well as in Electrodiagnostic Medicine.

"The goal is to increase the functionality and quality of life of patients by treating and managing their conditions through conservative, non-surgical methods," said Dr. Lyn Weiss. She points to back pain as an example of the need for a focus on non-surgical approaches: "Over 80 percent of Americans will develop back pain at some point in their life, but only about five percent will actually need surgery. Physiatric medicine can help to prevent and manage back pain and bring patients back to maximum functionality."