Community | Mount Sinai Today

Growing Up with the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Adolescent Health, Community, Featured

“The Adolescent Health Center enabled me to take advantage of opportunities that might have otherwise been out of reach,” says Mary Medina.

In 1949, Mary Medina’s mom came to New York from her native Puerto Rico at nine years old. By the age of 20, she was a single mother of four and was determined to give her children a different life than the one she had had.

So when she heard about the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, she took her kids there for primary care and reproductive health services to make sure they had the care and information that would enable them to get an education and start a career without the challenges of teen pregnancy.

Ms. Medina, who grew up with her mom and three brothers in East Harlem and the Bronx, was 13 at her first visit. It was easy to talk to the health care providers there and ask them questions about sex and contraception.

To her mother’s relief, she succeeded in grammar and high school, and she went to college. That was followed by more achievements: She continued on to graduate school, where she received a Master of Social Work and also a law degree.

Today, Mary Medina, JD, MSW, remembers her introduction to Mount Sinai. “When I was a child, my mom first took us to the pediatric clinic, and then to the Adolescent Health Center. I grew up there,” Ms. Medina says.

Years later, after she completed her training, she learned about a position at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, as it was then known. “It was a no brainer for me to apply,” she says. “It was where I felt I belonged. I’ve always considered Mount Sinai my home.”

Ms. Medina spent more than 16 years working at Mount Sinai, eventually attaining the position of Director of Government Relations. It was a significant step in launching Ms. Medina’s successful 35-year career in health care, which included positions as Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, and Executive Director of the Greater New York Hospital Association. Today, she is a part-time attorney in private practice, serves on the Board of Directors of the Health Care Chaplaincy Network, and is a volunteer end-of-life doula.

Ms. Medina says, “The Adolescent Health Center enabled me to take advantage of opportunities that might have otherwise been out of reach.”

South Nassau Communities Hospital Becomes Mount Sinai’s Flagship Hospital on Long Island

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, Featured

From left: Kenneth L. Davis, MD; Joseph J. Fennessy; and Richard J. Murphy announce the partnership at a news conference on Long Island.

South Nassau Communities Hospital and the Mount Sinai Health System have finalized a partnership that will make South Nassau Mount Sinai’s flagship hospital on Long Island and bring advanced-level health care to the South Shore of Nassau County and to Long Island.

The comprehensive agreement has received enthusiastic support of the boards of directors of both institutions and positions Mount Sinai and South Nassau to expand access to innovative approaches in patient care, treatment, and research to the communities of Long Island.

“Our collective goal is to provide the highest quality of care to patients on Long Island,” says Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. Adds Richard J. Murphy, South Nassau’s President and Chief Executive Officer, “Mount Sinai is a world-class institution with a leading medical school, and this affiliation will allow our patients to have access to some of the top physicians and most advanced treatments available. It also will help South Nassau reach the next level in our role as a growing regional medical center.”

As part of the relationship, Mount Sinai will help expand South Nassau’s campus and services, including plans for a new four-story addition in Oceanside with an expanded Emergency Department and new intensive care beds and surgical suites.

“Our affiliation with Mount Sinai provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to combine their comprehensive network of coordinated primary, acute, and specialized health care services, along with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, with the health care needs of the communities we serve,” says Joseph J. Fennessy, Chairman of South Nassau’s Board of Directors. “Mount Sinai is about advancing the science of medicine while improving patient outcomes, which is why this is a good fit with South Nassau’s culture. Patients on Long Island should not have to travel to Manhattan for world-class care.”

“Over the past 10 months, we have been working diligently to prepare to combine Mount Sinai’s academic, clinical, and research expertise with South Nassau’s community-based care,” says Arthur Klein, MD, President of the Mount Sinai Health Network. “Already, Mount Sinai specialists are collaborating with physicians at South Nassau to provide more specialized, advanced care. We are also working together to secure important new recruitments. Mount Sinai and South Nassau have received approval for a new allopathic internal medicine residency program to advance the academic mission of South Nassau Communities Hospital and to ensure a dedicated physician workforce. Our vision is to provide seamless, high-quality integrated care to patients.”

South Nassau’s Board of Directors announced its plans with Mount Sinai in January 2018 after having signed a nonbinding letter of intent in May of 2017. Its Board of Directors will be retained and direct the day-to-day operations of the Oceanside campus. The South Nassau and Mount Sinai boards will share representation on each other’s boards, with South Nassau’s Chairman, Mr. Fennessy, serving on the Mount Sinai Executive Committee.

The plan has been approved by the New York State Department of Health, the New York State Attorney General, the New York State Department of Education, and the New York State Office of Mental Health. It has also won the support of local community leaders and elected officials who welcome Mount Sinai to Long Island.

Athletes Lift the Spirits of Patients At Kravis Children’s Hospital

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, Pediatrics

Two Ultimate Fighting Championship athletes, Gian Villante and Aljamain Sterling, made an exciting visit to the Child Life Zone at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital on Thursday, November 1, where they appeared on a live KidZone TV show that was broadcast throughout the hospital.

The two mixed martial arts fighters answered questions from the pediatric viewing audience and later visited children at their bedsides, where they chatted, handed out action figures, and posed for keepsake photos.

“They brought such joy and truly lifted the spirits of our pediatric patients and families through their in-person and on-air interactions,” says Diane Rode, Director, Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy, Mount Sinai Kravis Children’ s Hospital.

Mr. Sterling said he was happy to visit the hospital and serve briefly as a role model. “For the kids, I related it all to life: You lose sometimes. There are ups and down; there are obstacles, but you always have to get back up and keep pushing forward.”

From left: Aljamain Sterling, patient Andres Mendoza, and Gian Villante.

Lecture Offers Insight Into Obesity and Diabetes

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, Diabetes

Distinguished endocrinologist and researcher Barbara Kahn, MD, the George Minot Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, discussed the link between obesity and type 2 diabetes at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s 2018 Stanley Mirsky, MD Lecture in November, during Diabetes Awareness Month. Dr. Kahn is a recipient of the Banting Medal—the highest award of the American Diabetes Association for scientific achievement—and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Mount Sinai’s Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Bone Disease holds the Stanley Mirsky, MD Lecture each year. The series was established with philanthropic support and honors the late Dr. Mirsky, a Mount Sinai faculty member and leader in diabetes treatment and research.

Jennifer Mirsky, daughter of the late Stanley Mirsky, MD, left, with Barbara Kahn, MD.

Celebrating Anniversaries

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community

Nearly 1,200 employees from The Mount Sinai Hospital, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and the Mount Sinai Health System’s Corporate Services division were recognized for their length of service at separate events held during three days in November. Leadership from Human Resources, Hospital Administration, and the Dean’s office were on hand to congratulate each employee who received an anniversary pin and certificate of service. The celebrants posed for photos, mingled with their colleagues, and enjoyed lunch in the Annenberg West Lobby.

Luis Vasquez, Clerk, left, enjoyed the celebration.

Patricia Arrington, Senior Materials Coordinator, left and Irma Quinones, a Coordinator at The Tisch Cancer Institute.

Push-Up Challenge Brings Awareness to Prostate Health

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, Prostate Cancer

More than 120 Mount Sinai Health System faculty and staff completed more than 6,000 push-ups at the recent fourth annual Push-Up for Prostate Cancer Challenge held in Guggenheim Pavilion. The event, which commemorated Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September, challenged each individual to complete 29 pushups in honor of the 29,000 men who die from prostate cancer in the United States each year.

“This very important event reflects Mount Sinai’s commitment to prostate cancer,” said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System, who kicked off the challenge by completing 96 push-ups.

Dr. Tewari, left, and Dr. Charney, far right, with winner John Mendez.

Dr. Tewari, left, and Dr. Charney, far right, with winner Daphne Semet, MBA.

Dr. Tewari, left, and Dr. Charney, far right, with The Mount Sinai Hospital Urology team.

The first-place team trophy was awarded to the Department of Urology at The Mount Sinai Hospital, which completed 775 push-ups. Individual awards were given to the top male and female, as well as to the individual who completed the most modified push-ups. First place honors were given to John Mendez, Customer Service Representative, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (male, 101 pushups); Daphne Semet, MBA, Vice Chair of Administration and Finance, Department of Pathology, Molecular and Cell-Based Medicine (female, 102 push-ups); and Mena Singh, MPA, Senior Accountant, Department of Finance (modified-style, 106 push-ups).

Push-Up Challenge Brings Awareness to Prostate Health The program also offered information about prostate cancer and provided cancer screenings and risk consultations. “Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers, but it does not produce any symptoms, and the only way you can go after it is by being proactive,” said Ash Tewari, MBBS, MCh, the Kyung Hyun Kim, MD Chair in Urology, Mount Sinai Health System, who led the event.