Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Featured, Patient Stories
Robin Glazer, Director of The Creative Center at University Settlement, back row, center, helped celebrate the artists, who included, front row, from left: Regina Scudellari-Ponemon, Barbara Polinsky, Cibele Vieira, and Desi Minchillo; and back row, from left: Marika Hahn, Sascha Mallon, Helen Dennis, and Nikki Schiro.
During an appreciation luncheon held on Wednesday, November 13, Mount Sinai Health System leadership, along with faculty and staff, celebrated nine talented artists who work at Mount Sinai through The Creative Center at University Settlement’s Hospital Artist-in-Residence Program providing art experiences to oncology patients and their caregivers as they receive treatment.
The event included vivid and inspiring stories about care and compassion, and the powerful impact art has on enhancing the patient and staff experience. The lunch, held in the Annenberg Center for Innovation and Discovery, was hosted by Sinai Spotlight, a Health System employee recognition and appreciation program sponsored by the Division of Talent Development & Learning, in partnership with the Mount Sinai Health System Office of Development.
The artists work in various locations throughout the Health System—both bedside and at outpatient units—helping patients, and even their visitors, to momentarily turn a traumatic, frightening, or overwhelming experience into one of joy, life, and positivity through art.
Artist Sascha Mallon, who has participated in the program for nine years, meets with inpatients at the bone marrow transplantation center and outpatients at The Mount Sinai Hospital. Ms. Mallon says she first determines their eagerness to participate, and then, their preferences.
“They make macramé and jewelry. They sculpt and paint. I find out what is exciting for them,” says Ms. Mallon. “I don’t see the illness—the doctors and nurses do. I see the healthy part of the patient, the strong part, the happy part.”
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Featured, Pediatrics
Kenneth L. Davis, MD, left, with Jackie and Mike Bezos of the Bezos Family Foundation.
A partnership between Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital and the Bezos Family Foundation aims to transform pediatric health care through an innovative program that provides science-based tips, tools, and activities to enhance a child’s early brain development during the critical years from birth to age five. The effort, a collaboration with the Mount Sinai Parenting Center, is based on a core premise—that everyday interactions between a child and a parent, caregiver, or health care providers can be turned into an opportunity to build cognition and language skills, and help form strong interpersonal relationships. It is the cornerstone of an early learning program, known as Vroom, that was developed by the Bezos Family Foundation.
“In a child’s early years, the brain makes more than 1 million neural connections on average each second, which means every moment you spend with a child is an opportunity for brain-building activities,” says Carrie Quinn, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Executive Director of the Mount Sinai Parenting Center. “The health care environment offers a unique opportunity to reach parents during these formative years.”
The Parenting Center has saturated hallways, elevators, and exam rooms—in the prenatal, labor and delivery, postpartum, and neonatal intensive care units; and in the pediatric emergency department and the pediatric clinic—with easy-to-read signs that serve as canvases to convey more than 500 messages about parenting. “This prompts everyone to think about how they can make each interaction more meaningful, whether you are a parent in a waiting room, a pediatrician doing a consultation, or a security guard who is the first to greet families and typically the last person to say goodbye,” says Aliza Pressman, PhD, the Parenting Center’s Co-Founding Director and Director of Clinical Programming, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
“From using a sing-song voice called ‘Parentese’ while changing a diaper, to modeling backand- forth conversations with toddlers, each moment becomes an opportunity to promote healthy brain development,” adds Blair Hammond, MD, Co-Founding Director and Director of Medical Education for the Parenting Center, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
“The science we have funded for more than a decade clearly shows that children’s early development is dependent on parents and other caring adults in their lives,” says Mike Bezos, Vice President and Co-Founder of the Bezos Family Foundation. “Health care professionals like those at the Mount Sinai Parenting Center are natural partners.”
Adds Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System, “Mount Sinai has long recognized that the health of any child goes well beyond the immediate concerns that families present with and that we must always be holistic in our approach to facilitate their development and put them on a path of lifelong well-being.”
The initiative also offers a training component that includes video, e-learning, and in-person classroom support for all staff in the designated units to ensure they are well-equipped to apply the fundamentals of brain development science in their interactions with children and parents. More than 1,000 faculty and staff will be trained in clinical disciplines, such as Nursing and Social Work, an effort that also includes staff in nonclinical areas, such as Housekeeping, Patient Transport, and Security. The potential to influence thousands of children and their families is great. Each year, there are more than 50,000 primary care and emergency room visits, and more than 8,000 babies born at Kravis Children’s Hospital.
This initiative is the latest innovative effort by the Parenting Center. In 2018, it launched a pilot program with eight hospitals, including The Mount Sinai Hospital, to offer a free online curriculum for residents that integrates the science of early childhood development with pediatric training, teaching residents how to better inform, encourage, and interact with parents during well-child visits. Developed in partnership with Mind in the Making, a program of the Bezos Family Foundation, 76 hospitals around the nation have offered the curriculum to date, and an estimated 1,900 residents have enrolled.
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, Featured
Peter W. May, left, and Kenneth L. Davis, MD, discussed Mr. May’s 30 years of service to Mount Sinai at the Noble Deeds Society Dinner.
At the Noble Deeds Society Dinner last fall, leaders at the Mount Sinai Health System expressed their heartfelt appreciation to Peter W. May for his remarkable 17-year tenure as Chairman of the Boards of Trustees, during which he transformed a nearly bankrupt hospital and medical school into one of the world’s premier academic medical centers. Mr. May officially stepped down as Chairman in spring 2019 and now serves as Chairman Emeritus, Boards of Trustees. The Noble Deeds Society of the Mount Sinai Health System honors those who have been significant supporters and preserve the tradition of philanthropy.
“There could not be a more appropriate place to recognize Peter than at this dinner for noble deeds, because no one has done a more noble deed for Mount Sinai than Peter during his tenure,” said Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System, in a video that was presented at the event held at the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center.
Approximately 200 generous supporters—including the Mount Sinai Health System’s current Co-Chairmen, Boards of Trustees, Richard A. Friedman and James S. Tisch—attended the dinner. Mr. Friedman and Mr. Tisch credited Mr. May for his deep knowledge, confidence, commitment, and inspirational leadership. They said trustees urged Mr. May to serve additional terms while he was Chairman and that he successfully convinced other philanthropists to join him in supporting Mount Sinai’s mission. Mr. May joined the Mount Sinai Boards of Trustees in 1989. Evan L. Flatow, MD, President of Mount Sinai West and Bernard J. Lasker Professor of Orthopedics, said in the video, “Peter understood what was in the DNA of Mount Sinai. He was deeply committed to our mission. The history books will say that Peter saved our institution.”
Indeed, a short time after assuming Mount Sinai’s Chairmanship in 2002, Mr. May tapped Dr. Davis to serve as Dean and then as Chief Executive Officer. Within three years, Mount Sinai was operating profitably. Reflecting upon their combined leadership, Dr. Davis said, “We had a shared vision and shared common values. We believed in what this institution had stood for during its 150-year history.”
Peter W. May and wife Leni May, center, with, from left, son Jon May, daughter-in-law Juliana May, daughter Leslie May Blauner, and son-in-law Andrew Blauner.
Under Mr. May’s tenure as Chairman, Mount Sinai raised $3 billion. In 2013, he presided over the formation of the Mount Sinai Health System, when The Mount Sinai Medical Center combined with Continuum Health Partners to become one of New York City’s largest health systems. “To take us from the brink of bankruptcy to the system we are today, with eight hospitals and over 400 ambulatory centers, to 42,000 employees—who would have thought it?” said Dr. Davis. “And it happened under Peter’s direction, guidance, and leadership.”
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, said that Mr. May’s support was vital in helping the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai achieve its world-class status. “When I came to him and said, ‘this is what we need to do to make our medical school great’ and to ensure that we recruited the best and brightest students and faculty who were innovative and whose goal was to improve the lives of our patients, Peter provided the necessary resources and trusted me in working to accomplish that.”
Mr. May said that Mount Sinai will always occupy a very special place for him, his wife, Leni, their two children, and grandchildren. “I am not giving up my care, my love, my interest, and my years of dedication to Mount Sinai,” he said. “It will be part of my life as long as I live.”
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Featured, Research
Catherine Sinclair, MD, performed radiofrequency ablation at Mount Sinai West.
Mount Sinai has become one of the few health systems in the nation to offer a new minimally invasive procedure to treat noncancerous thyroid nodules. The procedure, called radiofrequency ablation (RFA), offers eligible patients a quicker recovery and minimal scarring, with preservation of surrounding healthy thyroid tissue.
Catherine Sinclair, MD, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Director of Head and Neck Surgery at Mount Sinai West, performed Mount Sinai’s first RFA procedures in August 2019. “I truly believe this procedure will change management and improve outcomes for a subset of patients with symptomatic, noncancerous thyroid nodules,” says Dr. Sinclair. Mount Sinai is also a leader in offering ethanol ablation, a similarly noninvasive procedure.
Thyroid nodules are masses composed of tissue or fluid, or both, that form in the thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland near the front of the lower neck. Nodules are very common, estimated to be present in 50 percent of those aged 50 and older. More than 95 percent are noncancerous, and most require no intervention. “For noncancerous thyroid nodules, we intervene surgically or with RFA only if the nodules are very large or symptomatic,” Dr. Sinclair explains. “Symptoms may include neck discomfort, neck swelling, difficulty swallowing or breathing, or changes in the voice from pressure on the nerve to the larynx.”
Although invasive surgery is the most common management option, RFA is an important consideration for patients with noncancerous nodules, Dr. Sinclair says. With RFA, surgeons use guided ultrasound to deliver radiofrequency current to heat the thyroid nodule, which shrinks significantly over the next several months. Patients who undergo RFA can return to normal activity the next day and exercise normally within several days, compared with several weeks for patients who undergo standard thyroid surgery. In addition, RFA targets only the nodule, compared with traditional surgery, which usually removes one side of the thyroid and makes lifelong hormone supplements necessary for 20 to 30 percent of patients.
Catherine Sinclair, MD, left, and Maria Brito, MD.
“Radiofrequency ablation for thyroid nodules has been performed in Korea for over a decade and throughout Europe, and their outcomes are excellent. The published data show nodule shrinkage rates of more than 80 percent with RFA that is maintained over years of follow-up,” says Dr. Sinclair, who learned RFA from a pioneer in the field, Jung Hwan Baek, MD, PhD, at the Asan Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea.
Dr. Sinclair also has developed a continuous laryngeal reflex monitoring system that is used during RFA to prevent vocal cord damage and hoarseness, which are potential risks during both RFA and standard surgery. In the system, nerve fibers within the neck are continuously stimulated to check their function, allowing surgeons to quickly take preventive measures against injury. This innovative method does not require a neck incision and is the only monitoring technique available for noninvasive procedures such as RFA.
Mount Sinai is one of the few health systems in the region to offer ethanol ablation. In that procedure, an alcohol solution is injected into thyroid nodules, killing cells and causing the masses to slowly shrink. The procedure leaves only a small scar and is performed in the office with local anesthesia. Dr. Sinclair says ethanol ablation may be more effective than RFA for fluid-filled thyroid cysts, and RFA is a better noninvasive choice for large, solid nodules. A combination of both procedures can be used for cystic/solid lesions. Ethanol ablation is performed at the Mount Sinai Thyroid Center at Union Square by its Director, Maria Brito, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease), Icahn School of Medicine; and Michael Via, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease), Icahn School of Medicine; and by Dr. Sinclair at Mount Sinai West.
“The procedures will not necessarily eliminate the nodule completely, and patients will still need to have ultrasound follow-ups to monitor the nodule,” Dr. Brito says. “But in appropriate cases, they are a terrific option. They make it very easy for
the patient.”
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community, Featured
Mount Sinai Queens staff members, from left, Vivian Leonard, Rianne Bonitto, Hoda Farghala, RN, Hassan Aghazzaf, Norma Calame, Shalawn Leak, and Carla Moscoso.
Each morning, senior leaders throughout the Mount Sinai Health System report in on operational and safety matters in a conference call known as the “Daily Huddle.” A bright spot of the calls is a segment in which a leader shares the story of a faculty or staff member who has gone above and beyond in demonstrating the values of Mount Sinai: safety, creativity, empathy, agility, and teamwork.
Stories of honorees’ excellent service were posted on an Appreciation Wall.
More than 120 of these standout staff members were honored in person on Thursday, November 7, in an event hosted by Mount Sinai Health System leaders Vicki LoPachin, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President; and Margaret Pastuszko, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Strategy Officer. The celebration at the Corporate Services Center was sponsored by Sinai Spotlight, a Health System employee recognition and appreciation program led by the Division of Talent Development & Learning. The honorees networked with Health System leaders, enjoyed healthy snacks, and viewed stories about their excellent service that were posted on an Appreciation Wall. In a presentation, Sinai Spotlight committee members from each site shared summaries of the stories and called staff members to the front of the room for applause and cheers.
“During the Daily Huddle, when we hear stories of your going out of your way for your patients and co-workers, we always take a moment to smile and remember why we are here,” Ms. Pastuszko said. “You are the fabric of this institution, and we are so grateful to all of you.”
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Featured, Infectious Diseases, Research
Mount Sinai scientists, from left, Peter Palese, PhD; Florian Krammer, PhD, with a 3D model of the influenza virus hemagglutinin; and Adolfo García-Sastre, PhD.
The quest to develop a universal influenza vaccine that would be administered only once or twice in an individual’s lifetime and cover every strain of the virus moved closer to becoming a reality in October, when researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai showed that a novel method of protection against the influenza virus was safe and induced strong immune responses in humans.
The interim results of this phase 1 clinical trial—led by Mount Sinai scientists Florian Krammer, PhD; Peter Palese, PhD; and Adolfo García-Sastre, PhD—were published online in the October 17, 2019, issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Two types of proteins, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, cover the surface of the influenza virus. Current influenza vaccines target the head of the hemagglutinin—a structure that changes often. Mount Sinai’s strategy, known as chimeric hemagglutinin (cHA), targets the stalk of the hemagglutinin, which is less variable.
In the Lancet Infectious Diseases study, the research team tested several cHA vaccine regimens in combination with an adjuvant, an ingredient that boosts the immune response to vaccines. All of the regimens induced antibody responses. But, “one vaccine regimen induced a broad antibody response after the first dose, and this response was not only cross-reactive for the currently circulating influenza virus but also to avian (bird) and bat influenza subtypes,” according to Dr. Krammer, Mount Sinai Professor of Vaccinology and Professor of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
This, he says, showed that one vaccination might be enough to induce protection against changing seasonal influenza viruses and pandemic influenza viruses yet to arise. “The results indicate that we are moving toward a universal influenza vaccine, but these are still interim results.”
Dr. Palese, Horace W. Goldsmith Professor of Medicine, and Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, says the “ideal vaccine, given only once in a lifetime and protective against all influenza virus strains,” would go a long way in improving the health of millions of people in the United States and around the world.
A universal vaccine would overcome “antigenic drift,” the small changes in the genes of influenza viruses that render viruses different from one another and allow them to escape human immunity. This is the primary reason why influenza vaccines vary in effectiveness from one season to another and must be updated every year.
Still, influenza vaccines do offer protection from severe disease and physicians strongly recommend that patients get them annually. Despite their widespread availability, however, more than half of Americans were unvaccinated as of the beginning of December 2019, according to NORC at the University of Chicago, which conducts the National Immunization Survey for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Influenza remains deadly for some. The World Health Organization estimates that influenza-related respiratory illnesses account for between 290,000 and 650,000 deaths per year. Dr. Krammer says, “Developing new vaccines takes a lot of time and it’s hard to estimate how long it will take, but I firmly believe we will have a universal flu vaccine in our lifetime and probably sooner.”
In addition to Dr. García-Sastre, a co-senior researcher on the Lancet Infectious Diseases study, and the Irene and Dr. Arthur M. Fishberg Professor of Medicine, and Director of the Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, contributors included Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Duke University School of Medicine; the University of Chicago; and the nonprofit international health organization PATH. Funding was provided by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
