Updated on Aug 4, 2022 | Community, COVID-19, Featured
As the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to overwhelm hospitals in the spring of 2020, photographer Claudia Paul was inspired to tell the stories of health care workers battling the emerging virus. Her photo series, “Faces of Resilience,” portraits of front-line health care staff at Mount Sinai Morningside, was born, with 32 Mount Sinai Morningside employees volunteering to participate from departments across the hospital.
On Monday, June 27, the permanent exhibit was installed in the hospital lobby at Mount Sinai Morningside, which symbolizes the resilience of the Mount Sinai Morningside community while inspiring hope and courage as all hospitals continue to cope with multiple waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This carefully curated collection illustrates the teamwork it takes to fight the pandemic and the resilience required to carry on. Viewers are encouraged to take a moment to read the heartfelt words of Mount Sinai Morningside staff and pause to reflect on the work done by the hospital staff.
“Partnering with Claudia Paul on the exhibition has resulted in a transformed entrance to our hospital,” said Arthur Gianelli, FACHE, President of Mount Sinai Morningside and Chief Transformation Officer of Mount Sinai Health System. “It signals to staff, patients, and visitors that we embody all that is necessary to fight the pandemic. This inspiring installation reflects the staff of Mount Sinai Morningside’s commitment to excellence. The individuals featured represent the excellence, teamwork, compassion, and valor it takes for everyone to care for our patients and community.”
Jonathan Ripp, MD, MPH, Chief Wellness Officer at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, added: “These faces represent all our physicians and staff who have worked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the intents of these displays is to demonstrate that we recognize the incredible value of our staff and are continually working to value and support all of them.”
Ms. Paul thanked everyone who participated in the project for their “vulnerability in sharing your memories, struggles, and hopes.”
“It was a pleasure to work alongside each and every one of you and share your stories with the world,” she said.
Each of the photographs contains a quote from the person that captures the feeling from that time in the pandemic.
“It was scary, but everyone went above and beyond the call of duty, to safely take care of our patients,” reads the quote from Janice Fearon, PACU Nursing.
Added Trish Campbell, Emergency Nursing: “In the mist of all the chaos I had a moment where I realized this was why I went into nursing.”
You can visit the “Faces of Resilience” installation in the Main Hospital Lobby at Mount Sinai Morningside, 419 W. 114 Street.
The “Faces of Resilience” photo exhibit at Mount Sinai Morningside
Updated on Jul 26, 2022 | Community
The Mount Sinai Lab Safety fair was held on Wednesday, June 22 in the Annenberg Building.
Hosted by Mount Sinai Environmental Health and Safety department, as well as the Laboratory Safety Committee (LSC) and other Mount Sinai vendors, the annual event is an opportunity for experts in lab safety to answer questions and to explain to Mount Sinai staff how to maintain a safe laboratory environment. This was the first in-person event since 2019.
“This event is to bring all the key players in lab safety together, including our vendors and departments throughout Mount Sinai,” says William Borgeson, Associate Director, Environmental Health and Safety.
“It is to show that we are a resource here for our lab staff, and to be open to questions giving them guidance, and helping them with anything they might need.”
Mount Sinai safety staff from different departments participated, including Mount Sinai’s radiation safety office, Employee Health Service, and the Biosafety Program. They answered questions from Mount Sinai staff and explained the role that their departments play within Mount Sinai Health System.
“We do have to worry about infectious diseases that are communicable and can easily be spread from people to people, so we need to have good laboratory hygiene and we need to have good laboratory biosafety practices,” says Randy A. Albrecht, PhD, Associate Professor, Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine, and Senior Director for Biosafety.
Updated on Jul 8, 2022 | Community
A team from Mount Sinai took to the West Side piers on Saturday, June 11, for a two-mile walk in support of the American Liver Foundation.
Some 20 Mount Sinai faculty members, staff, patients, and loved ones participated in the American Liver Life Walk, which began at Pier 84 near West 42nd Street and proceeded to Pier 62 at West 22nd Street before looping back around. The walk raises funds and awareness of liver disease prevention and research.
“This is the first time in recent years that Mount Sinai has participated, and having raised over $16,000 is simply amazing,” says Douglas Dieterich, MD, Professor of Medicine (Liver Diseases) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Our contribution supports the American Liver Foundation’s mission and will help save lives by preventing and curing liver diseases.”
Updated on Jul 8, 2022 | Alumni, Community, School
Annette Stauber Cohn, RN, will be 100 years old on Saturday, July 9, 2022. Ms. Cohn enrolled in the former Beth Israel Hospital School of Nursing (now Phillips School of Nursing at Mount Sinai Beth Israel) in 1940. At that time, it was a three-year diploma program.
Back then, the nursing students resided on two floors of the hospital. As at other nursing schools of the time, students conformed to strict standards of behavior, dress, and health habits. A housemother made rounds every night at 10 pm. A dress inspection was conducted weekly, and the students were weighed to make sure they did not “get too heavy” since it was perceived as a professional necessity that nurses possess the required stamina and “look well.” The uniforms were green. Because World War II was on, there were no silk stockings, rayon was too expensive, and nylon was being used for parachutes, which left black cotton hose. By the end of the day their feet would be purple.
All the instruction was provided by the physicians and nurses at the hospital. Students worked 12-hour shifts six days a week on the hospital wards, and attended classes in between their other duties. In return, they were given housing, uniforms, and books and were paid a small monthly allowance.
Although times were different and certainly much stricter, Ms. Cohn fondly recalls her time in New York City, first as a student and later as a registered nurse. On weekends, she would visit museums, galleries, and flower markets, and attend free concerts. An avid lover of the arts, she once took a group of nursing students to the opera, where they bought standing-room tickets.
She began her nursing career at Beth Israel Hospital when she was asked to work directly for the hospital and nursing school director, Dorothea Daniels. This was quite a testament to Ms. Cohn’s skills, since Ms. Daniels had a reputation as “a woman to be reckoned with.” Her first assignment was to review nursing applications and later she taught at the nursing school.
It was at Beth Israel Hospital that Ms. Cohn met the love of her life, Perry David Cohn, MD, who completed his residency and internship in pediatrics at the hospital. They were engaged when World War II broke out; Dr. Cohn was drafted and served his country as a physician. He finished his tour with an honorable discharge, but then received orders to return and was stationed in Georgia. These events kept delaying their marriage and so they decided to have a small wedding in New York City and then move to Georgia together. Eventually they made their way back up North to New Jersey where they later built a house in Passaic.
Like most physicians back then, her husband operated his practice out of their home. During those early years, Ms. Cohn was for the most part a homemaker with three children, but she also worked as a nurse alongside her husband when it was very busy. When the children were older, she returned to nursing practice full-time. Over the years her family grew to include three children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Upon retirement, she and her husband enjoyed traveling and New York theatre, opera, and ballets. Ms. Cohn always had an eye for art and she enjoyed taking lessons in sculpture and art (paintings and pastels), along with gardening, knitting, and needlepoint, and, of course, spending time with her family and friends.
Fond memories of her time in nursing school and living in New York City led Ms. Cohn to write a memoir (“Out of Time and Place”) about those early days. Recognizing how important the school was to Ms. Cohn, for her 85th birthday her children established a graduation award in her name. Ms. Cohn was delighted to attend the pinning and graduation ceremonies annually and have the opportunity to share some of her experiences with the students and personally congratulate the recipients of her honorary award.
When asked what the secret to such a long life is, she did not hesitate to say, “Having a wonderful husband, fantastic children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and the support of my friends and exceptional health care providers.”
Updated on Jul 8, 2022 | Community, Featured, School
The Phillips School of Nursing at Mount Sinai Beth Israel has been approved to charter a chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.
Sigma is the global leader in recognizing excellence in education, practice, and research in nursing. This milestone designation will allow the school to charter its own chapter and induct members into the Society from the school as well as nursing leaders in the Mount Sinai Health System.
Laly Joseph, DVM, DNP, CNE, RN, C, MSN, APRN, ANP, FNAP
“We are excited and honored to have received this invitation from Sigma,” said Laly Joseph, DVM, DNP, CNE, RNC, MSN, APRN, ANP, FNAP, Senior Associate Dean at the Phillips School of Nursing and President of the school’s Sigma Chapter. “Sigma members are leaders at all levels of the health care industry, which includes top-notch nursing executives, clinicians, educators, researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and others. Our students and nurse leaders from the Health System will join a distinguished group of nurses who have met or exceeded the rigorous standards required to receive an invitation to join Sigma.”
A chartering and induction ceremony is planned for the fall of 2022 and will include nursing students and nurse leaders from the Mount Sinai Health System.
“Being selected to host a Sigma chapter is a testament to our school’s commitment in nursing education and scholarship. I want to thank Dr. Laly Joseph and the faculty for their hard work in preparing us to gain this honor,” said Dean Todd Ambrosia, DNP, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, FNAP.
Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the learning, knowledge, and professional development of nurses as part of a commitment to making a difference in health worldwide. The society was founded in 1922 by six nurses at the Indiana University Training School for Nurses, now the Indiana University School of Nursing.
Dean Todd Ambrosia, DNP, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, FNAP
Sigma’s mission is to create a global community of nurses who lead in using knowledge, scholarship, service and learning to improve public health around the world, which aligns with the mission of the Phillips School of Nursing at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
Membership is by invitation based on scholarly achievement. Baccalaureate and graduate nursing students who demonstrate excellence in scholarship, along with nurse leaders exhibiting exceptional achievements in nursing, are invited to join.
Sigma has more than 130,000 active members in more than 100 countries, and there are 540 chapters at 700 institutions of higher education worldwide. Members have numerous professional development opportunities in the areas of education, leadership, career development, evidence-based nursing, research, and scholarship.
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, Diversity and Inclusion, Featured
The 52nd NYC Pride March kicked off in full force on Sunday, June 26, returning in person after a two-year hiatus. Mount Sinai displayed its pride down Fifth Avenue and the full spectrum of the Mount Sinai family—providers, researchers, support staff, students, and more—showed up to impress the importance of LGBTQ+ visibility and inclusivity in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine fields.
Mount Sinai Health System is committed to meeting the needs of LGBTQ+ patients, be it through the Mount Sinai Doctors or hospital networks, the Institute for Advanced Medicine, or the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery. In addition, the Health System’s dedication to LGBTQ+ representation in employment and training helped it earn a top score of 100 and the designation of “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index earlier this year.
Check out the Mount Sinai contingent at this year’s Pride March:
Read more about LGBTQ+ health and how Mount Sinai champions this cause:
