May 15, 2017 | Community
Kenneth B. Mehlman, Trustee, left, and Charles R. Bronfman, Emeritus Trustee, at the Mount Sinai History Wall.
Mount Sinai Health System leaders, including members of the Boards of Trustees, were invited to a special tour of the Mount Sinai History Wall, an artistic timeline created to showcase the institution’s transformative contributions to medicine, science, and patient care over the last two centuries.
The History Wall was commissioned in early 2014, the year following the 2013 integration of The Mount Sinai Medical Center with Continuum Health Partners, and has a commanding presence on the fourth floor of the Corporate Services Center at 150 East 42nd Street. It spans three sections of wall and is approximately 104 feet in length and eight feet in height, and provides a vast narrative timeline that includes vintage photographs and documents.
Unveiled in December 2016, the History Wall resides in the area where New Beginnings takes place—the weekly orientation session for new employees hosted by the Department of Human Resources. “The History Wall provides an inspirational welcome to more than 5,000 new hires annually when they attend New Beginnings,” says Diane Adams, Chief Learning Officer, Mount Sinai Health System. “The impressive historical highlights provide a sense of importance and pride in our new employees, painting a picture of excellence and reinforcing messages introduced throughout the orientation program.”
Faculty and staff are encouraged to visit the History Wall and follow the timeline, beginning in 1820, the year that New York Eye and Ear Infirmary was founded and became the first U.S. institution to successfully operate on congenital cataracts. Stops along the way include the first description of Crohn’s disease (1932, The Mount Sinai Hospital); the development of ultrasound and ultrasound equipment (1969, St. Luke’s Hospital); discovery of the antiplatelet benefits of aspirin (1971, Roosevelt Hospital); and being among the first physicians to recognize AIDS as a new disease (1981, Beth Israel Medical Center). The History Wall is current to 2016—the first organ transplant from an HIV+ donor to an HIV+ recipient in New York State—with space for new discoveries to be added.
May 15, 2017 | Community, Featured
Barbara Barnett, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, center left, and David L. Reich, MD, center right, flanked by two strong allies of the transgender community, New York City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez and New York State Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried.
Patients, caregivers, family, friends, and elected officials recently gathered to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery. “What is CTMS? CTMS is a reflection of the vision of the Mount Sinai Health System,” David L. Reich, MD, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Mount Sinai Hospital, said at the event, on Monday, April 10, at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. “We see ourselves as champions of social justice, and one aspect of social justice is providing the highest quality, seamless, coordinated, and culturally sensitive care to the transgender community.”
The outpatient location offers care that incorporates primary, transition, and behavioral-health services. The Center completed its first surgical procedure at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in March 2016, and has since performed more than 200 procedures, including vaginoplasty, phalloplasty, metoidioplasty, facial feminization, chest-wall reconstructions, hysterectomy, and orchiectomy. CTMS is the first such center in New York, and among the pioneers in the nation. Health care services are delivered in a welcoming and affirmative environment devoted to the wellbeing of transgender patients.
Mahogany Phillips with Leonie Taylor, RN, a Senior Nurse Manager at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
“We’re all proud of what we have accomplished, and are enthusiastic about what the future holds for us,” Dr. Reich said. This summer, the Center will welcome its first fellows—one in transgender surgery and another in psychiatry—and an experienced reconstructive urologist, in further pursuit of Mount Sinai’s core missions of clinical care, education, and research.
Mahogany Phillips, who reunited with friends and caregivers at the event, says that while growing up, she felt like “just a regular girl” and had surgery at Mount Sinai in September 2016 and March 2017. “For me it was important to make me comfortable in my own body and to see myself, whole, in the mirror,” she says.
Read more in the HuffPost about how parents can play a major role in keeping their transgender children healthy and safe
May 15, 2017 | Community, Featured
Wesley Johnson volunteers with Mount Sinai’s Ambassador and CARE programs.
More than 1,200 volunteers at The Mount Sinai Hospital devote their time and energy to supporting numerous inpatient and ambulatory programs, laboratories, and offices. “We are proud of our dedicated volunteers who play a vital role in supporting Mount Sinai’s mission,” says Cynthia Levy, Director, Department of Volunteer Services.
Volunteers in Mount Sinai’s CARE (Care and Respect for Elders in Emergencies) Program, for example, provide much needed support to elderly patients in the Emergency Department.
In addition, 22 carefully selected and trained volunteers in Mount Sinai Health Partners’ (MSHP) Care Management Program help prevent hospital readmissions among patients who would otherwise be at high risk for returning to the hospital within 30 days and incurring unnecessary costs, as well as increasing their susceptibility to hospital-borne infections. The MSHP Care Management Program includes the Preventable Admissions Care Team (PACT) initiative. “Their efforts assist the staff in clinically assessing and enrolling patients,” says Volunteer Coordinator Emily Weinger.
Volunteers also provide assistance in the Hospital Delirium Program, where they use nonmedical interventions that provide patients with cognitive stimulation and help improve patient outcomes by making detailed observations and providing medical staff with valuable feedback.
Volunteer Marie-Claire Noel
For Jean Claude and Marie-Claire Noel, volunteering at Mount Sinai is a commitment the married couple has been keeping for a combined total of 29 years. Mrs. Noel is a volunteer in the Child Life Program and Creative Arts Therapy Department of the Kravis Children’s Hospital at Mount Sinai, where she puts patients and their families at ease during a stressful time in their lives. Every week, she provides inventive activities—playing board games and making origami sailboats and flowers out of pipe cleaners—that comfort children and adolescents of all ages.
More than 10 years ago, Mr. Noel spearheaded the Patient Liaison Program at the Derald H. Ruttenberg Treatment Center of The Tisch Cancer Institute, where he continues to serve as a volunteer. Through the Program, volunteers meet with new patients to provide support and information about the Ruttenberg Center’s services. Mr. Noel also has been a member of the Patient and Family Advisory Committee since its inception, working with patients, caregivers, and administrators from cancer centers throughout the Mount Sinai Health System to improve the overall patient experience.
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community
From left: Alexander Preker, MD, PhD, Executive Scholar and Visiting Professor, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Elisabeth A. Brodbeck, MPH, MA, Administrative Director, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; Nata Menabde, PhD; and Nils Hennig, MD, PhD, MPH, Director of the Master of Public Health Program, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Special lectures and wellness events sponsored by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Graduate Program in Public Health were held throughout the Health System during the first week of April, in recognition of National Public Health Week.
Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital, commenced the week with a discussion about novel approaches to cardiovascular health. Other events included a lecture on increasing Master of Public Health (MPH) student engagement with the international health community, led by Nata Menabde, PhD, Executive Director, World Health Organization Office at the United Nations, as well as a screening of Before the Flood, a documentary about climate change. Shirley Gatenio Gabel, PhD, MPH, Professor, Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service, led a conversation on social justice and “intersectional” womanhood, which examines the relationship between interconnected social identities and discrimination.
Graduate student Catherine Sinfield prepared meals at the New York City Rescue Mission.
Mount Sinai’s MPH students ended the week with a Day of Service, when nine of them served meals to the homeless at New York City Rescue Mission, the nation’s oldest shelter.
“As public health students, we are committing to professionally assisting communities as a whole through advocacy, policy, health care management, and research,” says Heather Omdal, a second-year MPH student and event organizer. “This opportunity allowed us to engage our academic interests with face-to-face interaction. It was a great union of including the issues that matter to us and engaging with the community on a personal level.”
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community
Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, center, with Roxana Mehran, MD, and George D. Dangas, MD, PhD.
Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in- Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital, was awarded the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in honor of his decades of leadership in service, teaching, and research.
“Dr. Faster’s invaluable contributions to the field of cardiovascular medicine show unparalleled dedication to excellence and boundless commitment to improving patient care,” said ACC President Richard Chazal, MD, who presented the award at the ACC’s 66th Annual Scientific Session in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, March 19. Dr. Fuster is a world-renowned cardiologist whose mission is to curtail the global threat of cardiovascular disease through early education. He has authored more than 900 scientific articles and has received honorary doctorates from 33 universities.
Dr. Fuster, the Editor-in- Chief of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, has served as President of the American Heart Association, and he is primary adviser to the U.S. President on the upcoming document, “Global Health and the Future Role of the United States.”
Mount Sinai became the first institution to win three top ACC awards in the same year, as two other leading physicians were honored: Roxana Mehran, MD, Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), and Population Health Science and Policy, and Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Research and Clinical Trials; and George D. Dangas, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), Professor of Surgery (Vascular), and Director of Cardiovascular Innovation.
Dr. Mehran received the 2017 Bernadine Healy Leadership in Women’s CV Disease Award, presented to a Fellow of the ACC who has demonstrated leadership and accomplishment in research, teaching, practice, or service. Dr. Mehran is internationally recognized for her work as a clinical trial specialist with complex data analyses and for her experience in working with regulatory agencies to conduct trials. Dr. Mehran is also the Chair of the ACC’s Interventional Scientific Council.
Dr. Dangas received the 2017 Distinguished Teacher Award, presented to a Fellow of the ACC who has demonstrated innovative, outstanding teaching methods and has made major contributions in cardiovascular medicine at the national or international level. An authority in nonsurgical cardiac and vascular interventions, Dr. Dangas was a founding Chair of the ACC’s Interventional Scientific Council, and served on the ACC Board of Trustees until 2016.
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community
The Mount Sinai Health System recently began sharing its expertise in digestive health services with Jupiter Medical Center in South Florida, in a partnership that will expand the quality of gastrointestinal (GI) care for adults and children in the region. Mount Sinai’s Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology, one of the oldest and most distinguished GI programs, is ranked seventh in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to providing therapeutic GI services, the new partnership with Jupiter Medical Center will include noninvasive diagnostics, research, education, and preventive health and wellness services, with a primary focus on irritable bowel disease and hepatobiliary disorders.
Recently, donors and physicians, in photo, left, were among those attending a ribbon-cutting event at the Jupiter Medical Center’s newly renovated Frenchman’s Creek Digestive Health Center, a state-of-the-art facility made possible by the philanthropic support of the Frenchman’s Creek Men’s Health Day Golf Tournament.
