Featured | Mount Sinai Today

Exploring a Wide Range of Careers in Health

Sep 11, 2018 | Community, Engagement, Featured

Students in the Nanotechnology course, from left: Ava Cardillo, Diven Duran, Daniel Musheev, and Kai Kumeno.

Parissa Tabrizian, MD, Professor of Surgery, center, gave a tour of operating rooms at The Mount Sinai Hospital to participants in “Saturday at Sinai.”

More than 120 high school, college, and graduate students aspiring to a broad range of careers in health participated this summer in internships and talent pipeline programs throughout the Mount Sinai Health System. Two units of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion (ODI)—Corporate Health System Affairs and the Center for Excellence in Youth Education (CEYE)—supported initiatives to provide opportunities in medicine, science, health administration, real estate, and technology to students from underrepresented backgrounds.

“The experience that I’ve had at Mount Sinai has helped me target what type of biomedical engineer I want to become in the future,” says Awa Bagayoko, who participated in CEYE’s Nanotechnology course. “The program also reaffirmed my interest in medicine.”

Israa Maarouf was an Information Technology intern.

This year marked the be.inning of a formal partnership between Mount Sinai and the New York City Department of Education (DOE) to off er internships to high school students in the departments led by Kumar Chatani, MBA, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Mount Sinai Health System; and Kenneth Holden, Senior Vice President, Real Estate Services & Facilities. “Twenty-six interns gained hands-on experiences in information technology; planning, design, and construction; engineering; and property management,” says Shana Dacon, MPH, MBA, Assistant Director, Office for Diversity and Inclusion. “We will continue to work with the DOE to expand opportunities for students during the academic year.”

Fourteen more students—from high school to graduate school—had internships in clinical departments, patient experience, population health, and diversity management, supported by ODI in partnership with organizations including America Needs You; the All Stars Project, Inc.; the Greater New York Hospital Association; the Institute for Diversity and Health Equity; and Prep for Prep.

This year, ODI also launched Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Young Queer Urban Teens for Health (LGBT YQUTH) in Medicine—a talent pipeline program for careers in health care. In the program, ODI staff and members of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Stonewall Alliance student group gave informational talks to LGBT youth organizations throughout the city. “In June, we welcomed participants from the talks to the pilot ‘Saturday at Sinai’ event,” says Richard Cancio, MPH, Program Manager for LGBT Health Services, Mount Sinai Health System. The free event included interactive activities; a tour of The Mount Sinai Hospital; and a panel of public health researchers, nursing and medical students, and graduate school alumni.

CEYE student Awa Bagayoko toured Sinai BioDesign.

CEYE’s six-week summer internship programs attracted 73 high school students from across New York City. Students participated in the Fruit Fly Genomics or Nanotechnology research courses; the Clinical Internship program; or the Lloyd Sherman Scholars program.

CEYE’s research courses met daily, with students receiving lecture-based instruction coupled with activities in the Icahn School of Medicine’s teaching laboratories, where projects included studying the behavior of fruit flies kept in isolation, and exploring silver nanoparticles and their medical implications. Clinical Internship participants were matched with faculty and staff and shadowed them in jobs throughout The Mount Sinai Hospital. In the Lloyd Sherman Scholars program, first-year participants took a Biotechnology course, and second-year scholars were placed in mentored research labs. In another two-year program, 14 interns who worked in labs during the school year returned in the summer to continue their work, assisting in areas of study including ovarian cancer survival rates and engineered cardiac tissue. All of the research interns plan to submit their summer work to the upcoming New York City Science and Engineering Fair.

“My internship showed me how hands-on science is,” says Brandon Soto, a first-year Sherman Scholar. “It also showed me that there are a lot of problems in the world that can be solved with science.”

“Mount Sinai Now” Offers Urgent Care Via Video Screen

Sep 10, 2018 | Community, Featured, Your Health

A virtual visit was demonstrated by Nicholas Genes, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, and Natalya Sholomyansky, Director of IT Digital Health.

A new telehealth service, Mount Sinai Now, is available free to Mount Sinai Health System employees and their dependents who are covered by Mount Sinai’s Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan. The service provides patients with urgent care from a board-certified physician, almost always a Mount Sinai clinician, via video conference. If there is an emergency, patients should call 911. But Mount Sinai Now, like other urgent care, can be a good choice for treating conditions such as allergies, colds and flu, nausea, rashes, and sprains, says Abraham L. Warshaw, MD, Senior Vice President, and Medical Director of Physician Access Services, Mount Sinai Health System.

The service, which is available 24 hours a day, is part of Mount Sinai’s mission to take the lead in telehealth and population health management. “The idea is giving the right care, in the right place, at the right time,” Dr. Warshaw says.

In a typical visit, a patient might wake up with a sore throat and nasal congestion. She logs into Mount Sinai Now, and within minutes the visit starts, with the patient communicating through FaceTime or another video tool. The physician asks about symptoms, consults the patient’s medical records, and conducts a virtual examination via webcam and monitor, for example evaluating the throat and tonsils, and demonstrating how to check for swollen lymph nodes. Finally, the physician might call in a prescription, or if the symptoms are ambiguous, recommend an appointment with a primary care physician or a specialist.

More than 1,300 staff have registered and 200 have been treated since Mount Sinai Now became available throughout the Health System in May. The team’s plan is to expand the service to other companies, unions, and the public once insurance models are in place. “Patients who use telehealth are saving money, saving travel time, and are able to continue their daytoday life without having to interrupt things or schedule an appointment that might be weeks away,” says Eric Cannan, Senior Director, Telehealth, Mount Sinai Health System.

To register for the free service, go to now.mountsinai.org or visit Google Play or the Apple App Store to download the Mount Sinai Now app.

Fifth Episode of Mount Sinai Future You

Sep 5, 2018 | Featured, Future You

The fifth episode of Mount Sinai Future You highlights “medical miracles” and shows the unique bond between a patient and her neurosurgeon, Joshua Bederson, MD, System Chair for the Department of Neurosurgery, who is also a sculptor. The painter from New Jersey discusses how recovering from brain surgery has affected her painting.

Mount Sinai Future You, which highlights innovation at Mount Sinai, is being broadcast on CUNY TV, the non-commercial educational-access cable channel run by The City University of New York.

Mount Sinai Future You takes viewers behind the scenes as doctors at Mount Sinai Health System leverage innovative science to change patients’ lives every day. The series highlights preventative care and treatment models that will lead to better health and longer lives.

Mount Sinai Future You, Episode Five, also features:

Brian A. Coakley, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatric Surgery, uses a new form of chemotherapy, rarely used in children, to help save a young boy’s life.
Kenneth Rosenzweig, MD, System Chair of Radiation Oncology, uses advanced radiation to allow a basketball legend to forgo surgery and make it her hall of fame induction.
A team of doctors led by Valentin Fuster, MD, Director of Mount Sinai Heart, sets out to promote better heart health worldwide in a new documentary called “The Resilient Heart,” which is available on Amazon Prime.
Jagat Narula, MD, PhD, MACC, Director of the Cardiovascular Imaging Program, studies ancient mummies to uncover the history of heart disease.
Sean P. Pinney, MD, Director of Advanced Heart Failure and Heart Transplantation, shares the emotional journey of one patient who ended up in the ER after giving birth.
Researchers in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease, discuss the importance of finding new treatments for diabetes.

Watch other episodes of Mount Sinai Future You

The Mount Sinai Hospital Ranks Among Top in the Nation

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Featured

The Mount Sinai Hospital has been named by U.S. News & World Report to its 2018-2019 “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll, a distinction awarded to 20 U.S. hospitals that deliver the highest quality of care across a range of specialties and for common procedures and conditions. Achieving a No. 18 ranking—out of the more than 4,500 hospitals that U.S. News evaluated—places The Mount Sinai Hospital among the very best in the nation. It was the third consecutive year the Hospital has been named to the Honor Roll.

Overall, U.S. News measured hospital performance in 16 specialties and 9 procedures and conditions. To be named to the Honor Roll, a hospital had to score high across many of these areas of care, excelling in complex, high-acuity cases, as well as performing significantly better than the national average for the more common inpatient procedures and conditions.

“This is an outstanding achievement, to be among a small group of hospitals recognized across the nation for providing the best possible care to our patients, year after year,” says Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. “We are extremely proud to be on the Honor Roll.”

New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai was nationally ranked in two specialties: No. 11 in Ophthalmology and No. 44 in Ear, Nose & Throat—both gains over last year’s results. Mount Sinai Beth Israel, and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s/Mount Sinai West (considered one hospital for rankings purposes) were all ranked regionally.

Five specialty areas at The Mount Sinai Hospital were among the Top 20 in the nation:

Geriatrics, No. 3
Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, No. 9
Cardiology & Heart Surgery, No. 10
Nephrology, No. 14
Neurology & Neurosurgery, No. 17.

Also ranked are: Gynecology, No. 24; Diabetes & Endocrinology, No. 36; Ear, Nose & Throat, No. 37; Urology, No. 38; Orthopedics, No. 40; and Cancer, No. 47.

Additionally, U.S. News ranked four departments in the Health System as “high performing,” a category that represents the top 10 percent of all hospitals surveyed. They were Pulmonology and Rehabilitation at The Mount Sinai Hospital, and Nephrology and Neurology/Neurosurgery at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s/Mount Sinai West.

Rankings for the majority of the specialties that U.S. News evaluated were derived largely from multiple objective measures that assessed factors such as risk-adjusted survival and readmission rates, volume, patient experience, patient safety, and quality of nursing, among other care-related indicators. Also factored in were the responses from the three most recent years of an annual reputational survey of board certified physicians across the 16 specialties who were asked to give the names of up to five hospitals in their specialty that provide the best care to patients with serious conditions, without considering location or expense.

The seven procedures and conditions for which The Mount Sinai Hospital rated better than the national average were: abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic valve surgery, heart bypass surgery, colon cancer surgery, lung cancer surgery, and treatment for heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

“An entrepreneurial spirit and an emphasis on innovation among our clinicians and researchers have allowed us to continue to accelerate the path of discovery and contribute to improved methods of diagnosing and treating human disease,” says 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. “We expect our outstanding School of Medicine faculty to further build on these accomplishments.”

David L. Reich, MD, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Mount Sinai Hospital, adds: “To be recognized as a Top 20 hospital, based on metrics focused on quality of care, and patient experience and safety, is a significant ref lection on the commitment by our physicians, nurses, and staff to excel every day.”

Saving Lives Citywide With Innovative Stroke Treatment

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Featured, Patient Stories

Patient Dionne Garcia, shown at a follow-up visit six weeks after her stroke, with Johanna T. Fifi, MD, center, and Gal Yaniv, MD, PhD, a second-year neuroendovascular surgery fellow.

On Tuesday, May 1, Dionne Garcia, 72, who was in New York City from Peru visiting her daughter, began experiencing slurred speech and weakness on her left side, and was becoming increasingly unresponsive. EMS arrived at her daughter’s home in Astoria and immediately took her to Mount Sinai Queens, a primary stroke center. Her stroke severity was assessed at 22 on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, indicating severe stroke. Within 15 minutes of her arrival at the hospital, her CT angiogram revealed a blockage of the right middle cerebral artery.

With stroke, each passing minute increases the likelihood of permanent brain damage, and urgent treatment was needed for Ms. Garcia. The Mount Sinai Queens Emergency Department contacted the Mount Sinai Comprehensive Stroke Center at The Mount Sinai Hospital. The Center’s Director, Stanley Tuhrim, MD, Professor and Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, immediately triaged the situation and identified the patient as having an emergent large vessel occlusion stroke (ELVO), one of the most devastating forms of stroke.

Dr. Tuhrim notified The Mount Sinai Hospital endovascular stroke team, led by Johanna T. Fifi, MD, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Radiology, and Associate Director of the Cerebrovascular Center for the Mount Sinai Health System. She, along with a neuroendovascular fellow and a radiologic technologist, quickly traveled to Mount Sinai Queens. There, they performed a minimally invasive endovascular thrombectomy to remove the blockage.

Doctors threaded a catheter through Ms. Garcia’s groin up to her brain, and used a combination of aspiration and stent-retriever techniques to completely open the blocked vessel. Within 24 hours of her procedure, Ms. Garcia showed no symptoms of stroke, and she was discharged to her daughter’s home less than a week later.

“Because of the recent advances in technology and the overwhelming evidence for thrombectomy, patients like Ms. Garcia are saved from a life of disability every day,” says Dr. Fifi, who is also Director of the Health System’s Endovascular Stroke Program.

In the past 12 months, the Mount Sinai Health System has performed nearly 200 endovascular thrombectomies, which are now considered the gold standard of stroke care for large-vessel occlusions detected within six hours of onset, and up to 24 hours for a subgroup of patients. The Mount Sinai Cerebrovascular Center has pioneered many of these endovascular techniques and approaches intended to speed up the assessment and treatment of stroke to eliminate or minimize brain damage.

To further address the time sensitivity, Mount Sinai created the innovative mobile interventional stroke team (MIST) approach, in which stroke specialists quickly travel—by taxi or subway—to the patient who has been brought to a Mount Sinai Health System primary stroke center.

The MIST strategy, which aims to minimize risks and the delays inherent in patient transfer, allows for parallel processing of patients who are prepared for the procedure, and in some cases are given the clot-busting drug tPA intravenously, simultaneously as the team is mobilized. In a study led by Dr. Fifi and published in the journal Stroke in December 2017, the MIST model of care had an onsetto-treatment time that was 79 minutes faster than transporting patients from a primary stroke center to a comprehensive stroke center for treatment.

Currently, The Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai West, and Mount Sinai Beth Israel are thrombectomy-capable. In October 2017, Mount Sinai Queens became the first center in the borough to provide thrombectomy procedures, and construction is ongoing to create, for early 2019, a fully thrombectomy-capable stroke center entirely designed to maximize speed and efficiency in diagnosing and treating all stroke.

J Mocco, MD, MS, Professor and Vice Chair of Neurosurgery, and Director of the Cerebrovascular Center at the Mount Sinai Health System; Dr. Fifi; and stroke team members also continue to advance innovative stroke treatments and technologies.

“The Mount Sinai stroke team has become an international leader in published research aimed at saving more stroke patients’ lives,” says Dr. Mocco. “We are addressing important questions and improving patient care at every stage of ELVO treatment, from initial evaluation, through acute treatment, to rehabilitation.” Among their efforts: they are testing an innovative device that may one day be used by 911 responders to detect and diagnose stroke and other brain disorders in the field; investigating artificial intelligence algorithms to speed up the detection and triage of stroke patients; and leading national trials investigating a number of other new devices for stroke.

“Only a few years ago, many major strokes were fatal, or patients were left with devastating effects. However, with rapidly developing technology and systems of care, Mount Sinai is changing the global conversation about stroke treatments,” says Joshua B. Bederson, MD, Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery at the Mount Sinai Health System. “While other hospitals in New York City focus on stroke diagnosis with ambulances that are outfitted with CT machines, our stroke-treatment team meets the incoming patient upon arrival at one of our Health System locations in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. Within minutes, the patient is diagnosed, and advanced endovascular treatment restores blood flow to the brain.”

Awards Recognize Mount Sinai’s Commitment to Quality Stroke Care

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Featured, Your Health

Six Mount Sinai Health System hospitals—Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai Brooklyn, The Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Queens, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, and Mount Sinai West—have received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.

The award recognizes each hospital’s commitment to ensuring that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines that are based on the latest scientific evidence.

Each of these Mount Sinai Health System hospitals earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period.

“We are pleased to recognize so many Mount Sinai Health System hospitals for their commitment to stroke care,” says Eric E. Smith, MD, national chair of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”

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