Kenneth B. Mehlman, Trustee, left, and Charles R. Bronfman, Emeritus Trustee, at the Mount Sinai History Wall.
Mount Sinai Health System leaders, including members of the Boards of Trustees, were invited to a special tour of the Mount Sinai History Wall, an artistic timeline created to showcase the institution’s transformative contributions to medicine, science, and patient care over the last two centuries.
The History Wall was commissioned in early 2014, the year following the 2013 integration of The Mount Sinai Medical Center with Continuum Health Partners, and has a commanding presence on the fourth floor of the Corporate Services Center at 150 East 42nd Street. It spans three sections of wall and is approximately 104 feet in length and eight feet in height, and provides a vast narrative timeline that includes vintage photographs and documents.
Unveiled in December 2016, the History Wall resides in the area where New Beginnings takes place—the weekly orientation session for new employees hosted by the Department of Human Resources. “The History Wall provides an inspirational welcome to more than 5,000 new hires annually when they attend New Beginnings,” says Diane Adams, Chief Learning Officer, Mount Sinai Health System. “The impressive historical highlights provide a sense of importance and pride in our new employees, painting a picture of excellence and reinforcing messages introduced throughout the orientation program.”
Faculty and staff are encouraged to visit the History Wall and follow the timeline, beginning in 1820, the year that New York Eye and Ear Infirmary was founded and became the first U.S. institution to successfully operate on congenital cataracts. Stops along the way include the first description of Crohn’s disease (1932, The Mount Sinai Hospital); the development of ultrasound and ultrasound equipment (1969, St. Luke’s Hospital); discovery of the antiplatelet benefits of aspirin (1971, Roosevelt Hospital); and being among the first physicians to recognize AIDS as a new disease (1981, Beth Israel Medical Center). The History Wall is current to 2016—the first organ transplant from an HIV+ donor to an HIV+ recipient in New York State—with space for new discoveries to be added.