Dr. Richard Lazzaro, a board-certified thoracic surgeon with over 20 years of specialized experience in minimally invasive and robotic surgery, has joined RWJBarnabas Health.
He will serve in the newly created role of Southern Region chief of thoracic surgery for RWJBarnabas Health. The region includes Community Medical Center, Monmouth Medical Center and Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus, and he will provide strategic direction and clinical oversight for the thoracic surgery programs at those facilities.
“We are proud to welcome Dr. Lazzaro, whose expertise and leadership will further strengthen the advanced thoracic and lung cancer care available to patients throughout the region,” said Eric Carney, CEO and president at Monmouth Medical Center and Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus.
An expert in minimally invasive and robotic thoracic surgery, Lazzaro joins RWJBarnabas Health from Northwell Health, where he served as the director of thoracic robotic surgery and associate professor of cardiothoracic surgery. Under his leadership, he developed a thoracic surgery program consecutively ranked in the Top 10 in the country for lung cancer surgery outcomes since 2012, as reported by the General Thoracic Surgery Database of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the world’s premier clinical outcomes registry for thoracic surgery. He also led one of the largest tracheobronchomalacia programs in the nation.
“As a renowned national leader in the field, Dr. Lazzaro offers new minimally invasive thoracic surgery options that will result in improved health outcomes and faster recovery times for our patients,” said Patrick Ahearn, CEO at Community Medical Center.
Lazzaro attended Albany Medical College and completed his residency at North Shore University Hospital, Cornell University Medical College. He completed postdoctoral fellowship training in minimally invasive thoracic surgery at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, as well as in general thoracic surgery at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
Lazzaro will be seeing patients at 67 Route 37 W. in Toms River and will also have an upcoming practice site at 200 Wyckoff Road, Suite 1400, in Eatontown. As part of the Combined Medical Group of RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Health, Lazzaro will accept most major insurances and is a Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey OMNIA Tier 1-designated provider.
