As the University of Puerto Rico Sports Medicine Fellowship program in San Juan struggled to maintain regular clinic hours after Hurricane Maria, Mount Sinai’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine offered to host the University’s current fellow, Brenda Castillo, MD, for an elective rotation. “Dr. Castillo’s training program is my alma mater,” says Gerardo Miranda-Comas, MD, Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine and Associate Program Director of the Department’s Sports Medicine Fellowship. “When I realized that her fellowship was directly affected by the devastation, we invited her to spend some time with us.”
With the support of Joseph E. Herrera, DO, Chair and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine for the Mount Sinai Health System, fellowship coordinator Ana Peña, and the Graduate Medical Education office, Dr. Castillo worked a month at Mount Sinai’s sports medicine clinics evaluating patients and performing ultrasound-guided injections and spinal procedures—as well as helping to provide medical coverage at several local high school football games.
“Dr. Miranda-Comas and his entire staff allowed me to continue my training as a sports medicine fellow, and for that I am truly grateful,” says Dr. Castillo, who completed her rotation Friday, December 1, and has returned to Puerto Rico. “It was definitely an excellent hands-on learning experience for me.”