Valley Welcomes New Medical Director of Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine

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Thursday, January 25 2024 @ 06:15 am

RIDGEWOOD, NJ, January 24, 2024 – Valley Health System, in partnership with Mount Sinai Children’s Hospital, is pleased to announce the appointment of Lewis Kass, MD, as Medical Director of Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine for Valley Medical Group.

Lewis Kass, MD

Dr. Kass brings more than 27 years of experience in pediatric pulmonary medicine and prior leadership expertise to Valley. He is board certified in pediatric pulmonology and sleep medicine. In his previous role, Dr. Kass served as Pediatric Sleep Director for the Norwalk Hospital Sleep Disorders Center in Norwalk, Connecticut, and prior to this, he was the Director of the Sleep Center at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx. Before this, he was the Medical Director of the Children’s Sleep Center at Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut.

Dr. Kass has special interests in narcolepsy, functional breathing disorders, pediatric sleep disorders, wheezing that is not a direct result of asthma, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), and clinical hypnosis, which he has been practicing for 17 years.

“Sleep has such an impact on the lives of children, teens, and young adults. Having the opportunity to improve sleep quality can have major impacts on the lives of our patients,” said Dr. Kass. “I am coming to Valley after over 19 years in a solo, private practice, where I knew the magic ingredient for taking care of patients to the best of one’s ability is time. Time builds rapport. Rapport breeds openness and honesty. Time and honesty allow for enough questions to get to the truth. Truth leads to diagnosis. Diagnosis and treatment lead to healing. It is all about time.”

Dr. Kass succeeds Steven Kanengiser, MD, who has retired after 17 years of service at Valley. Dr. Kass will see patients at Valley’s new pediatric pulmonary clinic located at 140 East Ridgewood Avenue in Paramus.

“Dr. Kass’ appointment is part of our commitment to develop a more comprehensive pulmonology service in Bergen County as part of our ongoing collaboration with the Division of Pediatric Pulmonology at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital. We are excited for Dr. Kass to join our team and for what he will bring to our program,” said J. Antonio Quiros, MD, DHA, FAAP, Chair of Children’s Services for Valley Medical Group.

Dr. Kass received his medical degree from SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn in Brooklyn, New York. He completed a pediatric residency at The Children’s Hospital at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY, and a fellowship in pediatric respiratory medicine at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.

For more information about pediatric sleep medicine at Valley, please visit ValleyHealth.com/PediatricSleep.