This week we celebrated our Physician Assistants (PAs). We have an incredible group of PAs who are compassionate and agile. The role of our PAs has changed over the last few years and we rely on them to be experts in many specialties and to support our patients in unique ways. They’ve been flexible and diligent throughout our transformation.  We celebrated their hard work this week by posting “Thank You” notes in 2 Dazian and hosting a luncheon, awards ceremony, ice cream social, and other events. Congratulations to PA of the Year Roxanna Vega and Rookie PA of the Year Karishma Jagtani.

Click below to see more photos of PA Week!

This week we also celebrated our Food Services team. I’m continually in awe of the joy they bring our patients and our staff. On top of it all, they provide delicious, healthy food and constantly improve their service through creativity. Amber Geib, our Assistant Director of Food Services, did a #lifeatmsbi Instagram takeover on Wednesday, and I learned so much about this team and what they do, including that they are fabulous dancers!

Scroll through the photos below or visit Instagram to see the party in action:

It’s also Emergency Nurses Week. Thanks to our incredible team! 

October is “National Physical Therapy Month,” and Mount Sinai Downtown wants to thank its Physical Therapists (PTs) and Physical Therapy Assistants (PTAs) for their expertise and dedication in helping patients get back on their feet. The PTs and PTAs of Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance work in both outpatient and inpatient settings.  

Please join us for the community events listed below. 

The outpatient therapists specialize in treating orthopedic and sports injuries, musculoskeletal pain syndromes, postoperative care and neurological impairments. Additionally we are excited to announce that in 2020 the Department will be relaunching the Lymphedema Program, it a treatment approach that helps reduce localized swelling due to possible damage in the lymphatic ducts and nodes.

The inpatient physical therapy department is located on the Petrie campus at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. Patients referred for physical therapy services are evaluated and treated in the ED, Acute-Care Units and the Rapid Evaluation Treatment Unit. This select group of therapists are experts in gait and transfer training, bed mobility, body mechanics, safety awareness, pre-operative joint replacement education,  and pre-prosthetic gait training.

Inpatient PTs work closely with the interdisciplinary team to facilitate safe discharge planning. Outpatient Physical Therapy is located at MSUS in Suite 5N. For appointments, please call (212) 844-8750. Inpatient rehab consultations can be requested through PRISM. For questions, please call (212) 420-2763.

This week I want to highlight our locksmiths who keep our campus and our MSBI community both safe and accessible.

Did you know we have about 48,000 locks on the MSBI campus?

Ed Rudloff and Joshua Colon can figure out how to unlock any of these with ease, and that’s not all they do. They make sure our badges can get us into the places we need to be and manage all the security cameras and buzzers throughout the campus. Ed and Josh both acknowledged that they love the investigative and hands-on aspects of the job.

I’m thankful that they maintain such a positive presence despite the constant changes we are going through and how busy they are every day. Since they serve many of our ambulatory practices as well, they must be on the go constantly.

Ed has been at MSBI for 35 years. He says, “It’s the people who keep you here. We were always a family.”

Joshua has been here for ten years and met his wife, Rosemary Colon (an ED registrar), here.

Thanks to these two consummate professionals for all they do.

“Every stroke, every story, and every recovery is different,” says Stefanie Wasserman, LCSW and leader of one of our stroke support groups.

A few months ago we shared with you the incredible partnership we have with the community in identifying strokes early. I want to share with you the many other services we have to support our stroke survivors.

We have been hosting a Stroke Survivor Support Group at Union Square for several years. Survivors meet every week to provide support to each other by sharing their personal experiences and advice on how to overcome daily struggles specific to stroke survivors. Peterson Masigan, Stroke Program Manager for Mount Sinai Beth Israel, facilitates this group.

We also recently created Early Onset Stroke Support Group that provides a safe space for stroke survivors between the age of 21 and 50. About 10% of stroke survivors are in this category, and they do not always feel like they fit into other stroke support groups that typically have older members. Stefanie Wasserman, LCSW and Kat Safavi, LCSW allow the group members to share stories and exchange ideas about life as a young stroke survivor.

In addition, our world-renowned Louis Armstrong Department of Music Therapy hosts a choir for stroke survivors that meets on Monday nights at Union Square. Anyone who wants to make music can join and support survivors and their families through song.

Check out the video below to see them in action.

One of the very best things about the MSHS Experience this year was hearing from so many of you about what it takes to deliver the best possible care to our patients and community. One topic that came up repeatedly was having more access to wellness resources. As care providers, while we are focused on caring for others, we can neglect to take care of ourselves. And the link between our own well-being and our ability to be our best for our patients is quite clear.

We offer a variety of wellness activities on campus thanks in part to the incredible partnership of the MSBI-1199 Labor Management Wellness Committee. This committee meets regularly to assess our offerings and create new ones. We know that what it takes to stay healthy, both mentally and physically, can be different from person to person, and there is so much more that we can do.

To that end, we are delighted to introduce you to our brand-new Wellness Champions. They have graciously offered their time and caring and enthusiasm to help us become a healthier community. You can ask them questions about our offerings or make suggestions so we can learn what you need. Our Wellness Champions are:

• Jeffrey Duroseau, Radiology, Union Square
• Darrell Sadler, OR, Union Square
• Louis White, Behavioral Health, Petrie
• Noemi Villanueva, Radiology, Union Square
• Israel Vila, Pharmacy, Petrie
• Diana Ancrum, Patient Care Services, Petrie

Some of our MSBI Wellness Champions from left to right: Noemi Villanueva, Israel Vila, Anna E. Ortiz (who is on our wellness committee), Diana Ancrum, Darrell Sadler.

From left to right: Lititia Satpathy (member of our wellness committee) Darrell Sadler, Louis White, Anna E. Ortiz, and Israel Villa. Not pictured: Jeffrey Duroseau

Achieving and maintaining wellness of body, mind, and spirit is a lifelong process. As Israel Vila has taught me… “We have to work at it every single day. When we do, we won’t spend as much time in the hospital, we will use fewer prescriptions, and we will live a fuller life. This will help us be there for our patients.”

I hope you’ll seek out these champions out for the opportunity to collaborate with us on supporting you and your health.