Jino Gatpandan, LMSW.
Jino Gatpandan, LMSW, is a float social worker at Mount Sinai Beth Israel (MSBI), meaning that he covers all inpatient areas of the hospital. Jino has been working at MSBI for about a year and has already shown that he is calm, empathetic, and compassionate, his supervisor say. Jino often has to help with discharges at the last minute or when there is a crisis, and he does so efficiently and creatively.
Recently, Jino was recognized with a STAR by Alicia Tennenbaum, LCSW, Director of Social Work and Case Management. Alicia recounted an incident that exemplifies Jino’s commitment to his patient’s welfare. One of the medical teams was trying to discharge a patient who was at high risk for readmission because she had trouble filling her medications. (She had already been readmitted to MSBI and other hospitals.)
Jino met with her medical team and pharmacy to determine how to rectify this situation. For the better part of a day, they hit roadblocks with the patient’s insurance company. Finally, in the evening, they were able to get her medications filled at the pharmacy. Jino decided that he would not feel good about this discharge until he ensured that the medications were in the patient’s hands. He went to Walgreens himself and stayed there until the medications were ready and he could bring them directly to the patient’s bedside. Alicia says, “It truly was selfless and an example of going above and beyond. Jino made the patient’s discharge smoother and safer by embodying the Mount Sinai values of creativity, empathy, agility, and teamwork.”
Jino is modest when talking about his contributions to the patient experience. “Helping people is what I try to do every day. So if there’s a way that I can assist a patient in making their transition back into the community seamless that goes beyond what’s normally expected, but within reason, then I’ll do it.”