Community | Mount Sinai Today

A Generous Gift to Advance Care for Children with Cancer and Blood Disease

Mar 18, 2018 | Community, Featured, Pediatrics

From left: Alan Feldman, Chairman, and Mark Zeller, Co-President and Treasurer, The Jack Martin Fund; Kenneth L. Davis, MD; Chris Mongeluzo, Co-President, The Jack Martin Fund; Lisa M. Satlin, MD; David L. Reich, MD, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Mount Sinai Hospital; and Birte Wistinghausen, MD, Medical Director of the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology.

The Jack Martin Fund, a nonprofit organization that has partnered with Mount Sinai Health System for 68 years, has provided a gift to open a new pediatric cancer inpatient unit at Kravis Children’s Hospital at Mount Sinai. The benefactors, along with Mount Sinai Health System leaders, celebrated the launch of The Jack Martin Fund Inpatient Unit for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disease at a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The 5,300-square-foot unit features eight private beds, including two isolation rooms with negative air pressure to protect immune-compromised children from infection, as well as a family lounge, a kitchen, and a playroom for younger children.

“This extraordinarily generous gift represents a critical step toward Mount Sinai’s goal of transforming children’s health care,” said Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. “Through our alliance with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the co-managed Children’s Cancer Program, we have expanded our pool of nationally recognized experts and are increasing the scope of clinical services to provide the most advanced care for children with cancer and blood disease.”

In 1988, the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology was named for Jack Martin, a business executive who died of polio in 1950 after being cared for at Mount Sinai. The Jack Martin Fund was established by his family to honor his memory.

“The Jack Martin Fund Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, led by new Chief Steven J. Burakoff, MD, provides exceptional care to children with cancer and blood disease, while conducting innovative research to advance our understanding and treatment of these disorders,” said Lisa Satlin, MD, Chair of Pediatrics for the Mount Sinai Health System. Dr. Burakoff also continues as Dean for Cancer Innovation at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Lillian and Henry M. Stratton Professor of Cancer Medicine as he takes on this new role. Added Dr. Satlin: “This new inpatient unit reflects our commitment to caring for children and families in a warm, nurturing environment.”

Teaching Youngsters About Robotic Surgery

Mar 6, 2018 | Community

Girl Scouts from NYC Troop 3302 paid a visit to Mount Sinai.

Physicians and staff from the Milton and Carroll Petrie Department of Urology in January hosted separate visits from two groups of youngsters from Battery Park City—Girl Scout Troop 3302 and fourth graders from P.S. 276—who gathered in the Guggenheim Pavilion to learn about robotic surgery.

The children were able to test some of the equipment used in surgical procedures, and Ketan K. Badani, MD, Vice Chair, Department of Urology and Robotic Operations and Director of Robotics at Mount Sinai West, and Vannita Simma-Chiang, MD, Assistant Professor of Urology, were on hand to answer their questions. The Girl Scouts, an organization committed to preparing girls for leadership, encourages its members to explore different aspects of science, technology, engineering, and math through its “fun with purpose” K-12 curriculum.

Students Stay Strong Through Powerlifting

Mar 6, 2018 | Community, School

From left: Lucy O’Shaughnessy, Chuma Nwachukwu, and Sayeeda Chowdhury

Three second-year medical students, Sayeeda Chowdhury, Lucy O’Shaughnessy, and Chuma Nwachukwu, have brought the sport of powerlifting to their classmates at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Since establishing Sinai Strong, a student powerlifting club—whose advisor is 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—they have taught more than 50 of their colleagues the art of the sport.

Powerlifting, which differs from conventional weightlifting, involves three tests of strength: the squat, bench press, and deadlift, a movement in which a weighted barbell is lifted from the floor to the level of the hips. In January, Ms. Chowdhury, Ms. O’Shaughnessy, and Mr. Nwachukwu participated in the Northeast Iron Beast Winter Classic V in upstate New York, a powerlifting competition in which each competitor has three attempts at each of the three lifts to move the most weight possible. Their best lifts were a 265-pound squat, a 308-pound deadlift, and a 600-pound deadlift, respectively.

The three students competed against many other lifters of the same gender, age division, and weight class but not against each other. Ms. Chowdhury won a gold medal in the juniors age division, and Ms. O’Shaughnessy won a bronze medal in the open age division.

Pediatric Patients Enjoy a Valentine’s Reunion

Mar 6, 2018 | Community, Pediatrics

Riley Ortiz posed with Elmo at the party.

Dozens of pediatric cardiology patients and their families reunited with the doctors, nurses, and staff who previously administered life-changing care to them during an afternoon of celebration and fun on Wednesday, February 7, at the 32nd Annual Valentine’s Reunion Party. Held in the Annenberg West Lobby, the event was hosted by the Children’s Heart Center at Mount Sinai—an alliance between Mount Sinai and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia— with the help of nonprofit organizations Project Sunshine and Harboring Hearts.

Sadio Sissoko and her mother, Aminata Kane (center), reunited with Sangeeta Sharma, MBBS, Assistant Professor, Pediatrics (left) and Rajesh Shenoy, MD, Assistant Professor, Pediatrics (Cardiology).

During this hospital visit, the children played tabletop curling and other games inspired by the Winter Olympics, participated in creating a group mural with the theme “How I am strong like an Olympian,” and made heart-shaped crafts. Says Ira Parness, MD, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: “Not to see a doctor, not to get prodded, poked, or examined, but to have fun. It is the ultimate reward.”

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.”