Mount Sinai Collaborates With Hospital System in Finland

The Mount Sinai and Helsinki teams were led by Tao Xu, MD, Medical Director, Mount Sinai International (MSI); Jonathan Wetzel, MBA, Senior Director, MSI; and Sanna-Maria Kivivuori, MD, PhD, EMBA, Chief Quality Officer, Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS). Top leaders not pictured are Szabi Dorotovics, MD, MBA, President, MSI; and Markku Mäkijärvi, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, HUS.

Mount Sinai International (MSI) has entered into a collaborative relationship with the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS) in Helsinki, Finland. A 12-person team from Mount Sinai recently performed a week-long assessment of HUS facilities.

The initial focus is advising HUS on achieving Joint Commission International accreditation in six clinical areas (Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine; Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology, and Oral Surgery; Pediatrics; Obstetrics and Gynecology; Psychiatry; and Oncology).

HUS is a 17-hospital system that includes Helsinki University Hospital—one of the largest hospitals in Europe and the largest university hospital in Finland—which treats the nation’s most severe and rare illnesses.

Mount Sinai Hosts Visit by U.S. Surgeon General

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, center, with David L. Reich, MD, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Mount Sinai Hospital, right, and Jonathan S. Gal, MD, Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine.

The Mount Sinai Hospital in February hosted a lecture by U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, who called upon the hospital’s medical community to embrace their role as “health advocates” while helping to guide the public in critical areas such as smoking cessation and the treatment and prevention of opioid abuse.

During a question-and-answer session in Hatch Auditorium that was led by Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System, Dr. Adams said, “We need more of you to use your voices.”

There is a lot of misinformation on the internet, said Dr. Adams, a board certified anesthesiologist. “It’s going to take a hands-on approach for us to communicate to people what it will take for them to be healthy.”

Dr. Adams discussed his priorities as Surgeon General. He said he was pleased that the United States has the lowest rate of cigarette smoking among adults and youth in history, but was also dismayed by a rise in e-cigarette smoking among high school and middle school students.

For the first time in 20 years, he said, national opioid-related deaths were decreasing, yet every 11 minutes someone still dies from opioid abuse. He also said the trend toward legalizing the use of marijuana in many states did not take into account the negative effects of its active ingredient, THC, on the developing brains of youngsters or on pregnant women.

Medical professionals in every specialty should help people understand the health consequences of their actions, he said, and be as well trained in handling drug abuse as they are in managing relatively commonplace complications, such as hypertension.

Go Red for Women Celebrates Heart Health

Health fairs were held throughout the Mount Sinai Health System to raise awareness of women’s risk for disease. Above, the fair at The Mount Sinai Hospital.

Eat healthy, get plenty of exercise, manage stress, and know your numbers. This was some of the crucial advice dispensed at health fairs held throughout the Mount Sinai Health System in honor of Go Red for Women Day® on Friday, February 7. The fairs, which were spearheaded by the nurses of Mount Sinai Heart, also provided nutritious snacks and free health screenings. Go Red is an initiative of the American Heart Association with the goal of increasing the awareness that heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death for women. Says Beth Oliver, DNP, RN, Senior Vice President, Cardiac Services, Mount Sinai Health System: “We want all women to understand the importance of knowing their numbers—their cholesterol levels, weight, blood sugar, and blood pressure—and to understand the risks of stress, smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle.”

Mount Sinai Heart leaders and event organizers, from left: Miriam Challenger, Ambulatory Clinic Supervisor; Beth Oliver; DNP, RN, Senior Vice President, Cardiac Services, Mount Sinai Health System; Annapoorna S. Kini, MD, Director, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory,The Mount Sinai Hospital; Mary Ann McLaughlin, MD, Medical Director, Cardiac Health Program; Maya Barghash, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology); and Khalilah James, NP.

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Physician Honored for Care of LGBTQ Youth

John B. Steever, MD, at the Treatment Action Group awards ceremony.

The Treatment Action Group, a nonprofit organization that advocates for research and treatment of HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis C, recently honored John B. Steever, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Adolescent Medicine), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Steever was recognized in November at the group’s annual Research in Action Awards in Manhattan for his dedication to HIV prevention and treatment for young LGBTQ people.

“My work is the one-on-one,” Dr. Steever said in accepting the award. “I am not a policymaker, so this is how I help people—one visit at a time.”

As Director of Special Programs at the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, Dr. Steever oversees Project IMPACT (Improving Access to Care and Treatment), a program to provide comprehensive treatment, support, and care for young people living with HIV; and HIV prevention services to young people at risk for HIV. All services are confidential and free.

Project Provides Winter Warmth for the Homeless

From left: Michele Clemente, Senior Management Analyst, and Lyndia Hayden, Senior Project Manager, Information Technology; and Marlene Gallardo, Administrative Manager, and Belinda Rodriquez, Billing Coordinator, Central Billing Office.

A homemade touch is being added to a donations drive as staff members at Mount Sinai’s Corporate Services Center take time after work to knit and crochet hats and scarves for the homeless. Their effort is part of “Care for the Homeless,” a project sponsored by the Corporate Services Center chapter of HOLA, the Heritage of Latino Alliance Employee Resource Group, in partnership with the nonprofit Bowery Residents’ Committee (BRC).

HOLA members will deliver donations—including soap, shampoo, and lotion, along with apparel like gloves, socks, and the new hats and scarves—to the BRC in mid-February.

“We are excited about this project and hope to make someone’s winter a little warmer,” says Francis Pabon, Director, Central Billing Office, who is Co-Chair of HOLA, along with Shawn Lee, Associate Director, Central Billing Office.

Thirty-five Years of Community Service

Lynn Frederick Hawley, Executive Director, Mount Sinai SAVI Program, presented Warren Leight with an award at the recent benefit.

The Mount Sinai Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Program (SAVI) celebrated 35 years of service to the community at its annual benefit cocktail party in November 2019, which drew more than 200 guests and raised roughly $177,000. SAVI is the largest hospital-based sexual assault and domestic violence service provider in New York City.

The funds raised at the benefit will be used to provide free and confidential counseling, advocacy, and referral services to past and present survivors of rape, sexual assault, incest, domestic violence, and sex-trafficking, as well as to their families and friends. At this year’s benefit, television producer and Tony Award-winning playwright Warren Leight—best known for his work on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit—was SAVI’s honoree.

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