Staff at Mount Sinai Downtown-Union Square, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, and the Corporate Services Center rang in the Lunar New Year at events held in February. Based on the Chinese lunar calendar, the holiday began on Tuesday, February 5, and ended on Tuesday, February 19. Participants took pictures with red lanterns, received candy and fortune cookies, and enjoyed music. Additionally, at the Corporate Services Center, members of the Amazing Grace Dance Group performed traditional Chinese dances. The festivities were organized by Mount Sinai’s Asian Employee Resource Group and The Louis Armstrong Department of Music Therapy.
Heart health fairs were held throughout the Mount Sinai Health System in honor of Go Red for Women Day® on Friday, February 1.
The fairs, which attracted more than 1,000 participants, provided free screenings for blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglyceride levels, and body mass index.
The events recognized the American Heart Association’s Go Red campaign, which aims to raise awareness of heart disease, the No. 1 killer of women worldwide.
“A shared commitment to the cardiovascular health and well-being of our community makes this a success every year,” says Beth Oliver, DNP, RN, Senior Vice President, Cardiac Services, Mount Sinai Health System.
Carrie Fuller, PT, left, of Mount Sinai West, won second place with teammates from other institutions, from left, Hanhao Zhang; Andrew Abdou, DO; Jacob Nye; and Bina Bansinath.
“It was incredible to watch this extremely diverse group of talented people create innovations,” says an organizer of the event, Salman Hirani, MD, PGY-4, Rehabilitation and Human Performance, Icahn School of Medicine.
The Mount Sinai Health System, along with the UN Chamber Music Society at the United Nations and members of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, partnered to host a benefit concert at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday, January 15, in support of the Helen Sawaya Fund at Mount Sinai West, a philanthropy program whose mission is to enhance the experience of cancer patients through art, music, reflexology, and more.
The fund was established in 2005 by Gabriel A. Sara, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and his friend from high school, Fuad Sawaya, in memory of Mr. Sawaya’s wife, Helen, who had been a cancer patient at Mount Sinai West.
Says Dr. Sara, “Our program addresses the emotional component of the disease and helps alleviate the stress of treatment. It has had an unbelievable impact on patients’ lives and on staff experience. Art and music, especially, reach us where words cannot.”
About 150 Mount Sinai Beth Israel physicians recently attended a reception thanking them for the exceptional care they provide to patients. The event, held in December at the National Arts Club, was organized by Dahlia Rizk, DO, President of the Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Board. Physicians received service pins and certificates—for up to 50 years of service—and took advantage of a rare opportunity to mingle.
“I saw so many new friends connect, and so many new bonds being made,” says Jeremy Boal, MD, President of Mount Sinai Downtown. “These links keep us strong and contribute to the incredible care we offer as a network and system.”
Jean-Frédéric Colombel, MD, whose research has led to some of the most seminal discoveries in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis—chronic inflammatory conditions that damage the gastrointestinal tract—was one of three national recipients of the 2018 Sherman Prize. The award, which recognizes individuals for pioneering achievements that have significantly transformed patient care, was presented by the Bruce and Cynthia Sherman Charitable Foundation at the Advances in Inflammatory Diseases conference Thursday, December 13, in Orlando, Florida.
Dr. Colombel, Director of The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical Center at Mount Sinai, was lauded for his highly collaborative work bringing together geneticists, microbiologists, epidemiologists, systems engineers, and clinicians to study new concepts in the causes, prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. He also was honored for mentoring and motivating the next generation of physician scientists.
Said Dr. Colombel: “It’s a long and difficult road ahead, and it will require great collaboration among the world’s top scientists and researchers, but I think we will be able, in the near future, to predict the onset of Crohn’s disease before the first symptom appears, which creates the possibility for one of medicine’s primary aims—preventing disease.”
Jean-Frédéric Colombel, MD, left, with Bruce Sherman
