Community | Mount Sinai Today

Amos, Kravis Children’s Hospital’s New Staff Member

Mar 6, 2018 | Community, Pediatrics

Amos, right, has joined Professor Bunsen Honeydew, left, as part of Kravis Children’s Hospital’s innovative facility dog program.

Thanks to a grant from the Mount Sinai Auxiliary Board, Kravis Children’s Hospital at Mount Sinai recently expanded Paws & Play, its innovative facility dog program, by acquiring Amos, a 2-year-old golden doodle. A full-time employee of Kravis Children’s Hospital, Amos provides comfort to pediatric inpatients under the direction of his handler, Tori Zucker, MEd, Certified Child Life Specialist.

Amos is the nephew of Kravis Children’s Hospital’s first facility dog, Professor Bunsen Honeydew, who joined Paws & Play last year when the program was launched. Paws & Play, supported by PetSmart Charities®, is the first facility dog program of its kind in New York State.

Facility dogs can see high-risk patients multiple times a week and become part of the care model. “Seeing the dog creates a dynamic of trust, care, and love,” says Diane C. Rode, MPS, Child Life Program Director. “This humanizes the health care environment.”

The fact that Amos underwent weeks of physical therapy to his leg after surgery when he was a puppy helps create an even deeper bond with young patients, according to Ms. Zucker.

In addition to comforting children who are undergoing medical procedures, Amos is a popular attendee at Kravis’ parent coffee hour, a support group for patients’ parents. He also provides support to children whose parents are facing severe illnesses or end-of-life situations.

Reception Honors Puerto Rico Medical Relief Teams

Mar 6, 2018 | Community, Global Health

Dennis S. Charney, MD, left, and Kevin Chason, DO, far right, with the volunteers who attended the reception, front row from left: Colleen Fischer, RN; Emma Kaplan-Lewis, MD; Tamairi Vildoso, RN; and Stacy A. Conklin, MSN, MS, RN. And back row from left: Sarah Schaefer, MD; Melanie Pratts, RN; Erin Hogan, RN; Trina Cosme, RN; Christine Mahoney, MS, RN; and Madeline Hernandez, RN.

The 20 physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses who participated in two medical relief missions to Puerto Rico in October following the devastation of Hurricane Maria were saluted by Mount Sinai leadership at a reception Wednesday, January 17, held on The Mount Sinai Hospital campus.

The volunteers—representing all hospitals in the Mount Sinai Health System—were part of a massive effort involving the New York State Governor’s Office and the Department of Health, along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Greater New York Hospital Association, the Healthcare Association of New York State, the New York State Nurses Association, and 1199 SEIU.

“For long hours, you worked in makeshift clinics, you helped several thousand American citizens cope with the loss of hygienic living conditions and the scarcity of critical medicines, and you brought humanity back to those who felt they had been forgotten,” 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, told the volunteers.

“You did not know what to expect, where you would be, the types of patients you would treat, or the conditions where you would live,” added Kevin Chason, DO, Clinical Director of Emergency Management, Mount Sinai Health System, and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Still, you managed to experience something few are able to do today in the practice of medicine—you were able to feel what it is like to practice medicine in the purest form.”

Volunteers were presented with an inscribed keepsake from Mount Sinai leadership recognizing their contributions. The Mount Sinai Health System also received a plaque, which was unveiled at the reception, from Governor Andrew Cuomo and others that thanked the Mount Sinai Health System and said, in part: “Your work exemplifies health care providers’ highest values of service and caring.”

Mount Sinai Expands Innovative Care in South Florida

Updated on Feb 21, 2018 | Community, Featured

At the ribbon-cutting, from left: Arthur Klein, MD; Kenneth L. Davis, MD; Peter W. May, Chairman, Boards of Trustees, Mount Sinai Health System; Alicia Gresham, Vice President, Mount Sinai Network Operations; Gonzalo Loveday, MD; and Michael McCloskey, President, FRI Management.

The opening of a multispecialty practice in Florida—Mount Sinai Doctors Palm Beach—was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting on Monday, January 29, signaling a broadened commitment by the Mount Sinai Health System to offer expert health care throughout South Florida.

“This is a significant step in expanding the reach of Mount Sinai New York’s high-quality care in South Florida,” says Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. “Residents of Palm Beach County and patients who travel between Florida and New York now have streamlined access to care from Mount Sinai’s outstanding physicians in a broad array of specialties.”

The Palm Beach practice offers primary care, cardiology, gastroenterology, and ophthalmology services, as well as same-day and next-day appointments, and 24-hour on-call access to specialists.

“The staff and clinical leadership at Mount Sinai Doctors Palm Beach have been carefully chosen from a large pool of national applicants,” says Arthur Klein, MD, President of the Mount Sinai Health Network. “We are proud to provide the resources of our nationally and internationally recognized academic health care system to benefit the residents and businesses of Palm Beach County.” The physician staff will be led by prominent cardiovascular specialist Gonzalo Loveday, MD.

This newest practice builds on the success of Mount Sinai Heart New York Palm Beach, and on a partnership between Mount Sinai and the Jupiter Medical Center, both providing high-quality care in cardiology since 2015. Mount Sinai Doctors Palm Beach is located at 625 N. Flagler Drive, Mezzanine Level, West Palm Beach. To schedule an appointment, call 561-268-2000.

Taking Mammography Screening to New York City’s Five Boroughs Through a Unique Program

Updated on Oct 14, 2019 | Community, Featured, Your Health

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. women ages 40 and older have had a mammogram during the past two years, but significant economic, cultural, and social barriers prevent many in New York City from taking advantage of this important breast cancer detection tool. According to the American Cancer Society and the Avon Foundation, only 47 percent of Latinas and 55 percent of black woman have an annual mammogram, while black women are 43 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than their white counterparts.

The Mount Sinai Health System is determined to improve those numbers through a new mobile mammography program that will provide up to 30 mammograms a day in a specially designed van that will visit women in their communities. The program is part of an early breast cancer awareness and detection initiative that was launched by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2016, with the goal of increasing by 10 percent the number of women screened by 2020. Mount Sinai won a competitive grant as part of the program and will receive more than $4 million from the state over three years to purchase and operate the mammography van.

“We’re really excited about the prospect of having a big impact on women’s health care by identifying women who can benefit from early breast cancer detection,” says Laurie Margolies, MD, Chief for Breast Imaging at the Mount Sinai Health System, and Medical Director for the mobile mammography screening initiative.

“Our program has a heavy educational component, and we’re gearing up to go to churches, synagogues, mosques, community centers, and other places where we’re invited to talk to women about breast health and how mammography can increase their chances of surviving breast cancer if they are diagnosed with the disease.” At these sessions, held several weeks in advance of the van’s appearance, women will be encouraged to sign up for mammography and assisted in making and keeping their appointments.

Prescheduled visits to health clinics, storefronts, and community and faith-based centers will begin this summer, with a focus on neighborhoods known to have the highest poverty and associated poor health outcomes. Available to women ages 40 and older, the Mount Sinai mobile van will offer digital breast tomosynthesis (3D mammography). According to Dr. Margolies, 3D mammography does not expose patients to higher doses of radiation and has been shown to decrease patient call-back rates by as much as 40 percent.

The specially marked van will leave The Mount Sinai Hospital up to seven days a week and screen women from 9 am to 7 pm. The van will carry mammography technologists and a patient navigator. The driver will also serve as the registrar. All images will be downloaded when the van returns at night, and read over the next 48 hours by one of Mount Sinai’s 13 full-time breast imagers. Women with abnormal mammograms will be called within five days to arrange for appropriate follow-ups, and patients will have free and secure access to their electronic records through Mount Sinai’s MyChart system.

The mobile van staff at Mount Sinai are collaborating with the New York State Cancer Services Program, a statewide program that provides free breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening, to enroll eligible women who do not have health insurance or who may be underinsured into the program.

Visit the Mobile Mammography Van

Learn more about Mobile Mammography at Mount Sinai

Go Red for Women Day

Updated on Feb 21, 2018 | Community

Beth Oliver, DNP, RN, bottom center, with participants in The Mount Sinai Hospital’s health fair.

In recognition of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women® campaign, more than 1,000 participants attended health fairs throughout the Mount Sinai Health System on Friday, February 2. Go Red for Women aims to raise awareness of heart disease, the No. 1 killer of women worldwide.

Patients and providers tend to think of heart disease as a men’s disease, and only one in five women consider it their main health concern. This leads women to be unaware of their risk factors, even though 80 percent of cardiovascular disease is preventable by modifying behavior, says Beth Oliver, DNP, RN, Senior Vice President of Cardiac Services for the Mount Sinai Health System.

The health fairs, which were held at five locations, provided free screenings for blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglyceride levels, and body mass index—giving participants their “heart health numbers.” Experts were on hand to discuss nutrition and diet, diabetes risks, stress management, smoking cessation, and relaxation techniques.

“Our goal is to educate our communities and employees about their risk factors for cardiovascular disease,” Ms. Oliver says. “With these health screenings and educational demonstrations, we aim to empower attendees to take control of their heart health and make positive, healthy changes.”

At Mount Sinai Union Square, from left, patient care associates Donna Steele and Jovonn Douglas, with Regina Jones, RN.

At Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, from left, Kerry-Anne Martin, RN; Maria Vezina, EdD, RN, Vice President of Patient Care and Chief Nursing Officer; Joan E. Joseph, MHA, BSN, RN; Stephanie Guareno, RN; and Seana Friedman, RN.

Former Star of Hamilton Pays a Visit To Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center

Updated on Feb 20, 2018 | Community

Javier Muñoz with staff members at the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, from left, Annie Ristuccia, MPH; Xiomara Ayala, LCSW; Brigid Brady; and Anna Katomski.

Javier Muñoz, who played the title role in Hamilton on Broadway, met with the Project IMPACT program’s support group for young people with HIV at the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center on Monday, January 29. With Mr. Muñoz, who is also HIV-positive, the group discussed how they handle daily challenges and how responses to HIV have changed over time.

Mr. Muñoz described how he managed his health while playing the physically demanding role, which he called “an amazing adventure” when he stepped down on January 14. Project IMPACT provides free, comprehensive, confidential health care to young people living with HIV.

« Older Entries

Next Entries »