Holiday Fun for Pediatric Patients

Patient Nylannie Arzu was greeted by event sponsor Andy Pesky and Santa.

More than 200 Mount Sinai Beth Israel pediatric patients, joined by patients affiliated with the Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation, enjoyed live entertainment from a musician, magician, and face painters at a carnival-style holiday party on Sunday, December 9, in the atrium of Mount Sinai Union Square.

The event was sponsored by Andy and Elaine Pesky of the global travel agency Protravel International, who brought 100 volunteers from the organization to help oversee the festivities. Throughout the day, children played at game booths, created holiday-themed arts and crafts, and stopped by a popcorn machine and hot dog cart for snacks. The highlight of the event was a special visit from Santa Claus and the delivery of gifts.

Raising Awareness About Lung Health

Natthaya Triphuridet, MD, left, a visiting physician from Thailand, joined Mount Sinai Lung Screening team member Tsering Lhamo, NP, at this year’s screening event.

An estimated 1,000 visitors stopped by a “Lungs for Life” event on Monday, November 12, in Guggenheim Pavilion hosted by the Mount Sinai Lung Screening team.

The event, held during Lung Cancer Awareness Month, featured faculty and staff who helped raise awareness about lung health and the benefits of low-dose lung screening for current and former smokers. Thirty participants signed up to schedule a lung screening.

The lung screening program, which was created to detect and diagnose early lung cancer when it is highly curable, is renowned internationally and has established collaborations with hospitals around the world to train clinicians from afar.

To learn more, go to mountsinai.org/lungscreening.

Public Health Organization Honors Raja M. Flores, MD

The Collegium Ramazzini, an international organization that limits membership to a select few who are recognized for scientific discoveries that protect public health, recently elected Raja M. Flores, MD, Chair of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at the Mount Sinai Health System, as a Fellow.

The organization, based in Italy, was named for Bernardo Ramazzini, an 18th-century physician considered to be the father of occupational medicine. Membership is limited to no more than 180 Fellows from around the world.

In his election letter, Dr. Flores, the Steven and Ann Ames Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, was told, “The Collegium Ramazzini recognizes your scientific stature and authority and your commitment to public health.”

Dr. Flores is considered a surgical innovator in the treatment of lung cancer, mesothelioma, and esophageal cancer.

“It’s our duty as physicians to care for our patients, and to help ensure that we live in an environment that is free from carcinogens like asbestos,” Dr. Flores says. “The Collegium Ramazzini encourages our activism.”

A New Leader for Emergency Management

Don R. Boyce, JD

The Mount Sinai Health System recently recruited Don R. Boyce, JD, to fill the newly created position of Vice President of Emergency Management.

Mr. Boyce brings considerable professional experience to this critical new role. He will oversee the development and implementation of the Health System’s emergency response plans and activities, and ensure they address the needs of all Mount Sinai locations. Mr. Boyce also will work to establish the Mount Sinai Health System as a regional and national leader in emergency management.

Prior to joining Mount Sinai, Mr. Boyce, who received his JD from Brooklyn Law School, served for six years as Deputy Assistant Secretary and Director of the Office of Emergency Management within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.

In this position, he led a workforce comprising 10 divisions, 10 regional offices, and more than 300 federal employees throughout the nation. He was responsible for executing the collaborative effort responsible for public health and medical oversight on behalf of all federal agencies, and in support of state and local partners. He also served as the primary point of contact for the Department of Defense, Defense Support for Civil Authorities, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency during civilian responses for domestic medical emergencies and mass fatality operations.

Mr. Boyce’s more than 30-year career has included additional leadership roles in health care and emergency management, including his positions as Corporate Director of Emergency Management at Continuum Health Partners, Director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, and Regional Administrator for the Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Mount Sinai Doctors Long Island Celebrates New Location

From left: Kenneth L. Davis, MD; patient Elly Arabadjief with her mother, Tracy; father, Justin; and sister, Abigail; and Alicia Gresham, Vice President of Operations, Mount Sinai Health Network.

Mount Sinai Doctors Long Island is expanding its reach with the opening of a new health complex in Greenlawn to better serve the northwestern communities of Suffolk County. The modern and spacious 80,000-square-foot location, at 5 Cuba Hill Road, offers primary care, 20 medical and surgical specialties, a comprehensive Women’s Center, and an infusion center, as well as onsite radiology and laboratory services. The facility consolidates the Mount Sinai Doctors Long Island practices from three separate locations in Huntington.

A ribbon-cutting for the $22 million facility, developed in conjunction with Simone Healthcare Development Group, was held on Thursday, October 18, and was attended by about 100 guests, among them Mount Sinai executives and Long Island elected officials, including Hempstead Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci, as well as physicians and managers from several Mount Sinai Doctors Long Island locations.

Patient Elly Arabadjief, with pediatric hepatologist Jaime Chu, MD.

“Residents of Long Island deserve high-quality, convenient care close to home, and Mount Sinai is meeting that need,” said Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. “With an expanded primary and specialty care network and a Long Island footprint that includes 200 physicians and other experts at 11 multidisciplinary practice locations, Mount Sinai is transforming care in this area. Our goal is to keep patients and communities healthy by providing health care excellence close to home and work.”

At the new Cuba Hill Road facility, 70 board certified physicians working with nurses and other medical staff are providing primary care, as well as specialty care in allergy, asthma, and immunology; cardiology; dermatology; endocrinology; gastroenterology; hematology/oncology; nephrology; neurology; obstetrics and gynecology; ophthalmology; orthopedics; pain management; general pediatrics; pediatric gastroenterology; podiatry; pulmonology; rheumatology; surgery; and urology. For patients’ convenience, the office offers extended hours, ample parking, and comfortable waiting areas.

“Mount Sinai Doctors Long Island is expanding access to specialty care with a local state-of-the-art facility that will serve as a medical hub for this community,” said Arthur A. Klein, MD, President of the Mount Sinai Health Network. “Our physician partners will work collaboratively and tirelessly to provide personalized care for each patient. We are proud to bring the renowned services of Mount Sinai to serve the residents of Suffolk County and beyond.”

Guests gathered in the main waiting area of the new Mount Sinai Doctors Long Island location at 5 Cuba Hill Road in Greenlawn for the ribbon-cutting celebration.

A very special guest at the event was 8-year-old patient Elly Arabadjief. She and her family were honored for their efforts to raise awareness for Wilson disease, a rare inherited disorder that was diagnosed in Elly in August 2017 by her Mount Sinai Doctors Long Island pediatrician, Steven J. Brunner, MD. Elly’s father, Justin Arabadjief, gave an emotional speech as he expressed the family’s profound gratitude for Dr. Brunner’s astute diagnosis and credited him with saving his daughter’s life. Individuals with Wilson disease lack an enzyme, which causes copper to accumulate in the liver and other vital organs. The disease can be fatal if not discovered early.

Recalling the Wilson Disease Association conference he attended in 2018, Mr. Arabadjief said he met patients of all ages, at varying stages of their illness. “We heard horror stories of missed diagnoses, but we only met a small handful like Elly, who were lucky enough to have had this disease discovered early enough to have every chance at a long, happy, healthy life.”

Dr. Brunner said, “I always say pediatrics is not just about colds, coughs, and sore throats. There’s always that needle in the haystack that you have to be on the lookout for, and this case was definitely a needle in the haystack.”

It was Dr. Brunner who immediately referred Elly to Joanne Lai, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Pediatric Gastroenterology), who is based in Manhattan and practices at Mount Sinai Doctors Long Island on a sessional basis, and to Jaime Chu, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Pediatric Hepatology), who practices at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital in Manhattan.

“We were fast-tracked with several specialists to review Elly’s symptoms and help with the diagnosis,” said Mr. Arabadjief. “We are thankful for all of the kind, compassionate people at various Mount Sinai locations we have met along the way to help get us through one of the scariest things that can happen to a family.”

 

From left: Jeffrey Vacirca, MD, Chief Executive Officer, New York Cancer & Blood Specialists; Kenneth L. Davis, MD; Arthur A. Klein, MD; Luis Isola, MD, Medical Director, Mount Sinai Cancer Network; and Benjamin Kornitzer, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President, Mount Sinai Health Network.

Honoring Excellence in Patient Communication

Honorees who attended the reception were joined by Vicki LoPachin, MD, second row, left; Edgar M. Cullman, Jr., second row, second from right; and Burton P. Drayer, MD, Chief Executive Officer, Mount Sinai Doctors Faculty Practice, third row, fourth from left.

Recipients of the 2018 Cullman Family Award for Excellence in Physician Communication were honored at a reception held Tuesday, October 30, at the Corporate Services Center. For the past three years, this annual award has honored Mount Sinai Health System physicians and advanced practice providers who demonstrate exceptional communication in clinical practice.

Recipients of this year’s award were ranked in the top one percent nationally in provider communication for 2017, as measured by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems patient experience survey. Of the 35 recipients, 12 have received the honor multiple times.

Making the presentations were Vicki LoPachin, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of the Mount Sinai Health System, along with Mount Sinai Trustees Edgar M. Cullman, Jr., and Susan R. Cullman. Dr. LoPachin said patients had used words such as “awesome,” “best,” “thoughtful,” and “excellent” when describing the honorees, adding: “As the Health System reinforces its goal of putting patients at the center of all that we do, we are proud that
you have been leading the way .”

The recipients of the 2018 Cullman Family Award for Excellence in Physician Communication

Aliza Ben-Zacharia, DrNP                  Tonia Kim, MD
Carolyn Brockington, MD                   Jason Kindt, DO
Rachel Brozinsky, MD                        Jason Kovacic, MD, PhD
Michael Buckstein, MD, PhD             Stephen Krieger, MD
Jillian Capodice, MS, LAC                  Alefiyah Malbari, MD
Kelly Cassano, DO                            Stuart Morduchowitz, MD
Lori Croft, MD                                   Thomas Nicosia, MD
Sandra Delapenha, Audiologist        Lauren Peccoralo, MD, MPH
Christopher DiMaio, MD                   Kalmon Post, MD
David Dunkin, MD                             Elliott Rosch, MD
Lori Garjian, MD                               Kenneth Rosenzweig, MD
Sunil George, MD                             Prantik Saha, MD, MPH
Paul Ginelli, MD                                Vicki Shanker, MD
Thomas Goldman, DPM                    Rajesh Shenoy, MD
Marsha Gordon, MD                         Shubhika Srivastava, MBBS
Jessica Grant, MD                             Marla Stern, MD
Vishal Gupta, MD                              Paul Thodiyil, MD
Carolyn Iocolano, FNP-BC, PhD