The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention has opened a new 2,700 square foot endoscopy wing.

The Harlem-based cancer center held a ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday for the $2.5 million addition, a gift from the Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation.

Established in 2003, the center is a joint venture between Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and North General Hospital, a 152-bed community hospital in Harlem. In five years, the center has logged 34,000 patient visits, and staff members have screened more than 4,000 individuals for colon cancer, officials there said.

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of death among blacks, according to the American Cancer Society. Citing the importance of early detection, the city’s Health and Hospitals Corporation and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene launched a campaign last year urging New Yorkers to get screened for colon cancer.

An endoscopy is a procedure in which a doctor examines a patient’s internal organs using a device consisting of a camera mounted on a flexible tube, or an endoscope.

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LUTHERAN INVESTS $6 MILLION IN ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS

Lutheran Medical Center has invested $6 million into an electronic medical record system that is expected to go “live” by the end of the year.

The system will replace traditional paper charts at the 393-bed Brooklyn hospital, a hospital spokesman said. The spokesman said the system will issue alerts and reminders about patient care. It also will enable doctors to document procedures they performed and to order diagnostic tests electronically.

The medical center is also implementing electronic medical record systems at its nine family health clinics throughout Brooklyn.

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CRITICS OF ‘GREEN CART LEGISLATION’ PLAN RALLY AT CITY HALL

Critics of a proposal to increase the number of fruit and vegetable peddlers in the city plan to voice their opposition on the steps of City Hall on Friday.

Opponents, including green grocers, small business owners, labor unions, and community groups, argue that the “green cart legislation,” would threaten existing businesses. An infusion of peddlers also could commercialize residential neighborhoods, some said.

Introduced in December by Mayor Bloomberg and the speaker of the City Council, Christine Quinn, the legislation would add 1,500 vendor licenses over two years. Cart permits would be allocated to vendors who plan to operate in neighborhoods where residents lack access to fresh produce.

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MILLIONS EARMARKED FOR WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE

Weill Cornell Medical College will be the beneficiary of nearly half of $2 billion raised by Cornell University in an ambitious fundraising campaign.

An estimated $844 million has been earmarked for Weill Cornell Medical College, a spokeswoman for the school said.

This past weekend, nearly 1,000 Cornell faculty members, students, and alumni gathered in New York City to celebrate raising $2 billion, half of the university’s stated goal of $4 billion.

In June, the medical school received $400 million toward its own $1.3 billion fundraising campaign. The largest portion of that gift came from the former chairman of Citigroup, Sanford Weill, and his wife, Joan, who donated $300 million.

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LENOX HILL HOSPITAL APPOINTS PATHOLOGY CHAIRMAN

Lenox Hill Hospital has named Dr. William Rodgers as its new chairman of pathology.

Dr. Rodgers will succeed longtime a Lenox Hill physician, Dr. Harry Ioachim, who recently announced his retirement after a 40-year affiliation with Lenox Hill and 26 years as chairman of pathology.

A graduate of the University of Rochester, Dr. Rodgers currently is chairman of the pathology committee of the Gynecology Oncology Group, a federally funded group that develops cancer treatments. He also serves as director of anatomic pathology at the University of Maryland Medical System and as director of the pathology biorepository at the university’s Greenebaum Cancer Center.

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STATE URGES FDA TO RELAX POLICIES ON THE SALE OF NICOTINE GUM, PATCHES

The state’s health commissioner, Dr. Richard Daines, has filed a petition urging the Food and Drug Administration to relax its policies regarding the sale of nicotine patches, gum, and lozenges.

Dr. Daines wants the FDA to change labeling requirements to fully disclose the benefits of nicotine replacement therapy and to allow over the counter nicotine replacement therapy to be sold in daily units. He is also urging the FDA to allow the sale of over the counter nicotine replacement therapy in all retail locations where cigarettes are sold.

“Under the current system, a smoker generally cannot buy safe nicotine in the same store where cigarettes are sold,” Dr. Daines said in a statement.

esolomont@nysun.com