Today we acknowledge so many people in the MSBI family who will retire today or in the coming months. It is difficult to sum up their contributions in this simple email; their combined years of service and unwavering compassion cannot be expressed in words.

When I came here several years ago, I immediately saw that MSBI is different from any hospital I had been in before.  When I look at the list of names below, I can clearly see why this is the case.

Each one of you has shown dedication and compassion toward not only your patients, but toward each other. I’ve learned so much from watching you all adapt and lean on each other through challenging times. Witnessing that kind of bond makes it clear to me why so many of you spent most of your careers at MSBI.

Today we say thank you, congratulations, and best wishes.

It is Infection Prevention Week Year. We have simply the best Infection Prevention team on the planet.

I’ve never come across a team that can handle such a serious subject matter while lifting spirits and making people laugh. They have a true passion for engaging and empowering the people of MSBI. In an epic year, they rose to every challenge, despite being pulled in many directions. They are involved in our crisis response, understanding and implementing government guidelines, surge planning, return-to-work safety, providing guidance on changing care plans for patients with COVID-19, managing protocols in our public spaces, PPE management and education, and many, many other projects. COVID-19 has touched nearly everything in our lives, and so has our IP team.

Below is a photo of many of our Infection Prevention Colleagues.

Our staff said it best. Here are a few stories from you:

“What kept me going through the surge was that I saw our infection prevention team on the units, day in and day out. They took a hands-on approach to ensuring our safety. They also took the time, though they had very little of it, to work with non-patient-facing staff who had questions of their own. They truly exemplify compassion and dedication.”

“I was once waiting for an elevator with Marie Moss, and she quickly demonstrated right then and there how to perform hand hygiene correctly. She is always ready to educate.”

“In the earliest phase of COVID, I was seeing one of the first COVID-19-positive patients. I immediately called Jordan Ehni in infection prevention and asked for his help. Jordan quickly came to the unit and watched me put on the PPE and reminded me of everything he need to know for the interaction. I felt calmed and assured, despite the uncertainty in the moment. Jordan would do anything for our team, no matter how small.”

“Dr. Waleed Javaid called me recently to say he was worried about me because he thought that I live in New Jersey. I don’t, but he always takes the time to check in on me and make sure I am safe, despite being pulled in so many directions.”

“Years ago, I was in nursing orientation and so many people from around the system presented to us on various topics. I wrote really big in my notes: ***MARIE MOSS*** because she left such an impression on me. I knew I would be calling on her frequently. She communicates in an honest and engaging way.”

They are simply the best, and we are so lucky to have them as a part of the MSBI family.

Every time you put on your mask (covering your nose and mouth!) over the next few days, I hope you will think about our amazing Materials Management team. That simple mask had to move through a complicated supply chain process that takes the dedication and concentration of many employees behind the scenes. Their work includes receiving, sorting, and delivering materials, as well as checking the expiration dates and integrity of each product, ensuring we order supplies in a timely manner, and many other tasks.

Though our Materials Management team members do not interact directly with patients, their work has a direct effect on the health and safety of our patients and employees. We saw how true that was during the height of the COVID-19 surge in the spring. This team dealt with many challenges as the need for PPE increased and the size of our operation grew. They showed constant agility and dedication. Many of them worked long hours and made sacrifices to ensure our safety. They also took extra care to onboard and train employees from other sites in the system who came to help during this crucial time. We are thankful to all of you.

One thing I love about this team is that they never stop improving and innovating their process. They’ve made many changes to integrate the receiving and delivery side of their work, and recently worked together to change their bin system, making it easier to see when supplies run low. This change was only possible because so many of our Materials Management employees shared their great ideas and worked together as a team.

If you see a Materials Management team member, please give them an elbow bump and a thank you. We owe so much of our success to their work.

We’ve always known it, and now even more people will know, too: our Cardiac Catheterization program is world-class.

The New York State Department of Health recognized the Mount Sinai Heart team and Cardiac Catheterization lab at Mount Sinai Beth Israel for their exceptional outcomes in treating percutaneous coronary interventions, also known as angioplasties. For the ratings that were just released, MSBI ranked best in New York state for non-emergent PCI safety outcomes.

John Fox, MD, Director of the MSBI Cardiac Catheterization Lab, said it best:

“Our lab comprises a group of people that form a working family, fostering one of the best environments for teaching fellows and safely helping people with complex medical problems.”

You can read more about this achievement here.

I also want to highlight that year after year, the American Heart Association® recognizes us for meeting specific quality achievement measures for the care of heart failure patients by awarding us with the following Get with the Guidelines Awards. Here are the awards for this year:

• Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure Gold Plus & Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll Award
• Mission: Lifeline STEMI Gold Receiving for STEMI care

Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 9 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit www.heart.org.

Meeting these exceptional quality standards requires complicated coordination across many different areas of our hospital. When our EMS teams identify a patient having a myocardial infarction (aka heart attack) and alert us early on, our ED and heart teams can be ready to receive the patient and prepare the appropriate treatments.

In addition, the American Heart Association® measures our heart teams on evaluation of the proper use of medications, aggressive risk-reduction therapies, and other evidence-based guidelines for heart failure and stroke patients. Before discharge, patients also receive education and get follow-up visits scheduled. Part of what we measure is the readmission rates for these patients with the goal of giving them the tools to recover and stay out of the hospital.  

I want to thank many of the other teams who make this coordinated care possible, including EMS, Transportation, ED, Cath lab, Inpatient Care, Radiology, and many others.