Pediatrician Honored as a “Literacy Champion”

Oct 8, 2018 | Community

Leora Mogilner, MD, left, with Chelsea Clinton at the Reach Out and Read of Greater New York benefit gala in Central Park.

Leora Mogilner, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, recently received a Literacy Champion award from Reach Out and Read of Greater New York, part of a national nonprofit group that gives young children a foundation for success by incorporating literacy into pediatric care. Dr. Mogilner is medical director of the regional chapter and was instrumental in its founding 20 years ago. She accepted the award at a benefit gala from Chelsea Clinton, who was representing the Clinton Global Initiative, which supports early literacy.

“The idea is that you teach parents about the importance of reading to children from the time they are babies,” Dr. Mogilner says. “In my practice at Mount Sinai Pediatric Associates, we give out brand new books, and we also have volunteers in the waiting room who read to kids and model reading aloud for parents.” Her dream for the future: “I would love to see this at every clinic and every practice in New York City.”

Watercolor Workshop Promotes Calm and Creativity

Sep 26, 2018 | Community

Sabrina Gomez, a Mount Sinai Calm intern, volunteered as a model.

While many were rushing away from work on two recent afternoons, about two dozen Mount Sinai staff members took a peaceful detour—to after-work watercolor workshops at the Icahn Medical Institute.

The classes were sponsored by Mount Sinai Calm, 1199-SEIU, and Chashama, a nonprofit group that provides work space to artists and offers community-centered arts programs. Participants were given painting tips by Charles Esperanza, an author and illustrator with Chashama.

“Make a rough sketch first to make sure your figure will fit on the paper,” Mr. Esperanza said. “As you paint, look at the model more than at your paper.”

And finally, there was advice that could be applied to many endeavors: “Don’t expect perfection, just jump in and have fun.”

Mount Sinai Calm offers free self-care and stress-reduction programs. For a class schedule and to learn about future workshops, visit www.mountsinai.org/about/ms-fit/self-care or email 4calm@mountsinai.org.

 

 

Some of the participants’ paintings.

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Restoring Stained Glass at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s

Sep 25, 2018 | Community

The historic stained-glass windows of Muhlenberg Chapel at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s are being restored, thanks to a fund-raising effort led by Norma M.T. Braun, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The chapel is named a– er the founder of St. Luke’s, Episcopal clergyman William Augustus Muhlenberg. Its windows, designed by the architect Henry Holiday in 1896, were recently selected as a point of interest in the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s annual Sacred Sites Open House. Restoration is to be completed later this year. Meanwhile, the chapel will continue multidenominational services, remaining “a beautiful and serene retreat for prayer and contemplation,” says the Rev. Meredith D.K. Lisagor, MDiv, BCC, Director of Spiritual Care and Education at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai West.

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“Celebration and Joy” on National Cancer Survivors Day

Sep 25, 2018 | Community

Above left: Ralph Kotkov, center, performed with fellow Mount Sinai cancer survivors, from left, Ella Levi, Hyacinth Constance, Maryann DeLeo, and Susan Staal.

About 200 cancer survivors, their families and friends, and Mount Sinai faculty and staff recently a ended the 21st annual luncheon celebrating National Cancer Survivors Day®. At the event, held in the atrium of Mount Sinai Union Square, Shawn S. Smith, who was treated for uterine cancer at Mount Sinai West, gave a talk on her journey as a patient. “I learned to laugh and to help others to laugh, even if only for a moment,” Ms. Smith said. “I learned that it was OK to
be afraid, but not stay in fear—to push past it.” The Mount Sinai Chelsea Cancer Survivors Vocal Ensemble made its debut performance, led by Michael Inge, a singer-songwriter. And additional speakers included Stefan Balan, MD, Assistant Professor,  Medicine, and Hematology and Medical Oncology, and the Hematology/Oncology Network Director for Mount Sinai Brooklyn;  Karen Devries, Nurse Manager, Mount Sinai Union Square and Mount Sinai West Infusion Suites; and Camry Diaz, Medical Assistant, The Blavatnik Family – Chelsea Medical Center at Mount Sinai.

“This well-anticipated annual event was filled with celebration and joy,” says Melissa Bellino, Vice President, Oncology and Therapeutic Infusion, Mount Sinai Health System. “It allows us to focus on the importance of the community that we have created and demonstrates our commitment to provide the highest quality of cancer care.”

 

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Epic Team Wins Honor Roll Distinction

Sep 25, 2018 | Community

Ken Koppenhaver, center, with his Epic team.

The Mount Sinai Health System was recognized recently for its achievements with Epic, the electronic health record system, receiving an Honor Roll distinction, at the Cum Laude level, through the Epic Honor Roll Good Maintenance Grant Program. This is a voluntary recognition program based on application of strategies, lessons learned, and best practices distilled from Epic’s experience serving top-line health care organizations.

“This is a huge achievement that not many other organizations of our size and complexity have achieved,” says Ken Koppenhaver, Senior Director of Epic Applications. “Just like the large-scale implementations that have occurred this year, this accomplishment belongs to all of us in Information Technology, as it took many teams countless hours to meet the requirements of this program.”

The requirements include computer hardware and business continuity, benchmarks in patient experience and population health, and ease of use, requiring collaboration across all of the Information Technology areas. Those who are eligible for the program include Epic customers across the United States who have been live with EpicCare Ambulatory or EpicCare Inpatient for one year or more. In early 2017, the Epic team began the process of achieving the Honor Roll recognition, with the final submission completed more than a year later in June.

Adds Mr. Koppenhaver: “Completing all components of the program helps ensure that Mount Sinai draws the most value from the Epic software and helps us improve the health and wellness of the communities we serve.”

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Courtside at the 2018 US Open

Sep 25, 2018 | Community, Featured

At the US Open, from left: James Gladstone, MD; Melissa Leber, MD, Assistant Professor of Orthopedics, and Emergency Medicine; Leesa M. Galatz, MD; Alexis Colvin, MD; and Aruna Seneviratne, MD, and Shawn Anthony, MD, each an Assistant Professor of Orthopedics.

Top orthopedic surgeons, sports medicine physicians, and musculoskeletal radiologists were courtside to help diagnose and provide rapid professional care to athletes in need of medical attention at the 2018 US Open Tennis Championships. It was the sixth consecutive year that Mount Sinai has served as the official medical services provider of the event, which was held over a two-week span in August and September in Flushing Meadows, Queens.

Alexis Colvin, MD, Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery in the Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, led player care as the Chief Medical Officer of the 2018 US Open. “We treated not only the pros, but the juniors and wheelchair athletes, as well,” says Dr. Colvin, who is also the U.S. Fed Cup team physician.

An ad from Mount Sinai’s 2018 US Open ad campaign.

This year marked many tournament firsts for Mount Sinai, which hosted the first-ever “Mount Sinai Get Fit and Play” event for the 23rd annual Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, featuring fun, physical activities for youth. On hand to support the event were members of the sports medicine team and Leesa M. Galatz, MD, Mount Sinai Professor in Orthopedics and Chair of the Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopedic Surgery.

“Promoting the sport of youth tennis as a means to stay fi t and healthy is a critical component of our partnership with the United States Tennis Association (USTA),” says James Gladstone, MD, Chief of the Mount Sinai Health System’s Sports Medicine Service, Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, US Open Player Physician, and U.S. Davis Cup team physician.

Also for the first time, Joseph Herrera, DO, Chair, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Human Performance, and the Lucy G. Moses Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine, along with a team of rehabilitation medicine specialists, participated in Community Day, hosting 32 Mount Sinai patients at the US Open Wheelchair Competition. There, they had a special courtside opportunity to experience the excitement of wheelchair tennis and meet players.

Two wheelchair stars—four-time Paralympic medalist and International Tennis Federation’s Quad World Champion, David Wagner, and Rio 2016 Paralympian Dana Mathewson—also visited Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital, where they filmed a segment for KidZone TV, talking about their experience with the sport and its role in their rehabilitation. They later conducted a live demonstration of wheelchair tennis and basic tennis drills for Mount Sinai rehabilitation patients in the Guggenheim Pavilion Atrium, much to the delight of patients and spectators.

Wheelchair tennis stars David Wagner and Dana Mathewson showed their skills.

Mount Sinai radiologists, led by Carlos Benitez, MD, Director of Musculoskeletal Imaging at Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, and Associate Professor of Radiology at the Icahn School of Medicine,were also onsite working closely with the team of Mount Sinai’s orthopedic sports medicine specialists. They provided players with immediate access to on-the-spot evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of injuries. A portable, laptop-size ultrasound device made by GE Healthcare was used to diagnose musculoskeletal injuries. Also adding to their capabilities for the first time this year was a portable X-ray machine, the GE Optima 200, outfitted with a Konica Minolta Digital Detector providing high-definition digital images of the chest, pelvis, spine, or extremities that could be interpreted by radiologists onsite.

The Mount Sinai Health System also achieved another milestone during the tournament when it launched its first marketing campaign in support of its partnership with the US Open and the USTA Eastern Section. It included highly visible billboards in Lower Manhattan, ads in The New York Times Magazine, digital and social media displays, and ads on the Long Island Railroad, MetroNorth, and subway.

While the ads had a distinct tennis theme and reinforced Mount Sinai’s relationship with the US Open, they also conveyed the broad message that “Mount Sinai is a full-service health system that can not only treat your injury, but also treat the rest of your body.” In mid-October, Mount Sinai will launch a larger six-month ad campaign that will showcase its world renowned excellence in many other disciplines.

Children kept fit at Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day.

 

 

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