Passing the Gavel From Mentor to Mentee

From left: Richard P. Warner, MD, and Edward M. Wolin, MD

A conference room at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai was the setting for a passing-of-the-gavel ceremony held on Friday, January 5, which formalized the new leadership of Mount Sinai’s Center for Carcinoid and Neuroendocrine Tumors. Richard P. Warner, MD, Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology), who founded the Center and established its reputation for world-class research and treatment of neuroendocrine tumors, officially passed the gavel to his longtime mentee and esteemed colleague Edward M. Wolin, MD, who will begin leading the Center in March. Dr. Wolin currently serves as Director of the Neuroendocrine Tumor Program at Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care.

Michelle Kang Kim, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology), who has served as the Center’s Interim Director and will be the Center’s Associate Director after Dr. Wolin’s arrival, presided over the passing-of-the-gavel ceremony, which was attended by the Center’s multidisciplinary team of specialists that includes gastroenterologists, radiologists, surgeons, hematologists/oncologists, and cardiologists, among other specialties.

“Humans of Mount Sinai”

Gabriel Yum and Clarisse Quirit, third and fourth from left, respectively, with, from left, patients Belita Jones, George Jensen, and Brian Ulysee.

Self-discovery, independence, and appreciating others while recovering from an injury were among the topics captured in a photo exhibit featuring 61 patients and employees in the Mount Sinai Health System’s Department of Rehabilitation Medicine that was displayed in the Guggenheim Pavilion in late January.

The exhibit was hosted by Recreational Therapy and the portraits were accompanied by expressive stories and quotes from the subjects.

“When people read the stories, they can relate,” says Gabriel Yum, an undergraduate intern with the Department and one of the exhibit’s creators, who conducted the interviews and took the photographs under the supervision of Clarisse Quirit, CTRS, Recreational Therapist.

“I want people to understand that they matter.” The exhibit was modeled after Humans of New York, the popular photoblog and book that features photographs and stories of everyday people in New York City.

South Nassau to Join Mount Sinai Health System

South Nassau Communities Hospital will become the flagship hospital on Long Island for the Mount Sinai Health System under an affiliation agreement announced Wednesday, January 24, by the Boards of Trustees of the two institutions. Final state regulatory review is under way, and approvals are expected in the coming months.

A nonprofit medical center and 455-bed teaching hospital in Oceanside, South Nassau is a premier provider of health services to more than 900,000 residents on Long Island’s South Shore. It also  operates the only Trauma Center on the South Shore of Nassau County, as well as Long Island’s only free-standing 911-receiving Emergency Department, in Long Beach. With 3,500 employees and 900 affiliated physicians, it is one of the few remaining independently controlled hospitals on Long Island.

If the affiliation is approved, South Nassau will become the eighth hospital campus within the Health System, which includes the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 300 ambulatory practices and other affiliated community health centers, and  more than 6,500 physicians. Mount Sinai’s current Long Island footprint includes 200 physicians and other health care professionals at 11 practices who indicate they will embrace the affiliation.

Significantly, South Nassau will become a major clinical and academic affiliate of the Icahn School of Medicine. With Mount Sinai’s academic, clinical, and research expertise, South Nassau intends to offer advanced medical care to “rival and surpass any of those available on Long Island,” according to a joint document outlining the transaction.

“The addition of South Nassau to our Long Island network represents our commitment to broadening access to innovative treatment and research in this region,” says Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. “We are thrilled about what this transformative partnership means for patients and families on Long Island.”

The two institutions signed a nonbinding letter of intent last May, when they began in earnest to explore clinical programs to enhance and expand patient care and services on Long Island.

“The clinical and administrative leadership of Mount Sinai and South Nassau have been working diligently and collaboratively over the last six months to establish the foundation of this very important relationship and opportunity,” says Arthur Klein, MD, President of the Mount Sinai Health Network. “We are already convinced about the wisdom and success of this partnership.”

As part of its commitment to Long Island, Mount Sinai intends to infuse a total of $120 million in capital contributions over a five-year period for capital projects to be mutually agreed upon.

Designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for outstanding nursing care, South Nassau also provides first-rate care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health, and emergency services.

Even before the affiliation was announced, South Nassau was on a path of growth and expansion. Plans are already under way to renovate and nearly double the size of the Emergency Department and to build a four-story facility in Oceanside, and to expand medical services in Long Beach.

“Joining the Mount Sinai Health System represents a unique, once-in-a-generation opportunity for all Long Islanders,” says Richard J. Murphy, South Nassau’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “South Nassau and Mount Sinai have a shared vision to improve services, especially on the South Shore, which is why this affiliation makes so much sense.”

Medical Students Organize Gift Drive

Fourth-year medical student Emily Leven, center, with first-year medical student Emma Stanislawski and second-year medical student Eddie Cytryn.

Students from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai distributed more than 150 gifts—at a value of more than $4,000—to patients of the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP) on Saturday, December 16. The student-run clinic provides free health care to uninsured patients in East Harlem. The students compiled an Amazon “wish list” of gift requests for patients or their family members that included winter clothing, kitchenware, children’s toys, and books. “We were so pleased by how many people generously contributed,” says Emily Leven, a fourth-year medical student who led the project. Ms. Leven credited the success to medical students and faculty, doormen at the student residence building who helped organize packages on arrival, administration staff who helped publicize the event, and those who donated. “Donors purchased every gift we asked for and wrote kind notes to our patients,” she says. “It highlighted that we are part of a community here.”

Learning About Lung Health

Members of the Lung Screening Program with co-directors Claudia I. Henschke, PhD, MD, back row, left, and David Yankelevitz, MD, far right.

Several dozen individuals signed up for lung screenings at a recent event hosted by the Mount Sinai Health System’s Lung Screening Program in Guggenheim Pavilion to raise awareness about lung health. “We want certain at-risk people to understand they need an annual lung scan in much the same way they get an annual physical,” says Claudia I. Henschke, PhD, MD, Professor of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Lung Screening Program Co-Director. Attendees picked up literature, spoke with representatives from smoking cessation programs and lung cancer support groups, and were able to walk through a large inflated educational model of a pair of lungs.

Smiles and Encouragement from 2017 Heisman Trophy Winner

Baker Mayfield autographed a football for Darrell Clarke.

The 2017 Heisman Memorial Trophy winner Baker Mayfield delighted patients at Kravis Children’s Hospital at Mount Sinai during a visit on Sunday, December 10, a day after receiving college football’s most prestigious award. Mr. Mayfield’s visit was arranged by Companions in Courage, a nonprofit foundation founded by hockey star Pat LaFontaine, and coordinated by the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department. The senior quarterback from the University of Oklahoma autographed footballs for patients and participated in a question-and-answer session before patients and families with 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. Recorded in the KidZone TV studio, the session was broadcast live throughout the hospital for those who were unable to attend. “Kids who have had struggles, they put a smile on their faces,” Mr. Mayfield said. “They are fighting for happiness.” He told patients, “Never give up. Just keep fighting.”