Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | MSBI
We rarely have the opportunity to step out of our daily tasks and take the time to reflect on our work and connect with each other. Now is the time to do just that.
You’re invited to the Mount Sinai Health System Experience where we will meet in small groups to make new friends, connect with old friends, and have honest conversations about how we can do our best work. All of us will attend a session this spring or summer. I’ve been fortunate to participate in three such sessions as this work has been rolling out across the health system, and I have learned new things each time.
Click the video below to learn more and ask your manager about signing up.
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | MSBI
This week I received an incredible letter from a patient who highlighted what we are capable of when we work together with a common goal in mind:
“I was recently a patient at Mount Sinai Beth Israel’s Campus at 317 East 17th Street. I have been in a number of hospitals during my life, both for myself and my family, but I have never been in one better than this one.
The emergency room was swift as well as smart; and further the two doctors I saw were unbelievably nice to me … I will never forget the words of encouragement that these doctors gave me. The nursing staff on my floor and in the emergency room as were the best I have ever seen anywhere: they not only knew their job, they were healers: i.e. nurses who were committed to seeing people get well. My two main doctors were knowledgeable and had good focus as they pointed out to me that just fixing the immediate cause of my entering the hospital wasn’t healthy in the long run; they also had respect for my views on medicine. The pharmacist was very respectful as well, and took time to research some medicine recommended by my doctors for my future health.
The cleaning crew was outstanding as were the security guards and transport workers; and I will never forget how the food service workers took all the wrong food I was eating back to the kitchen and showed me what was wrong with my diet by fixing it. Lastly, thank you for the beautiful room you gave me—with a view.”
Simply breathtaking. Imagine how proud we would feel if every patient we touched had a similar experience as this patient.
Over the next few months we will meet together in small groups to discuss how we can get there. This next phase of our work is what we are calling the Mount Sinai Health System Experience. Look out for more information on these sessions next week.
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | MSBI
April is Occupational Therapy Month. Mount Sinai Beth Israel has occupational therapists that provide excellent care in bringing patients back to functionality in their lives during or after their illness. Our patients benefit from their kindness, patience, and understanding of their unique needs. There are many branches of occupational therapy, and each one is very different. We have occupational therapists that span many practice environments and help many patients.
Mount Sinai Beth Israel’s inpatient occupational therapists treat patients in the acute care setting and prepare them for their discharge from the hospital. Inpatient occupational therapists work directly with patients to educate them on proper body mechanics for daily tasks like sitting and walking, as well as how to achieve their other life goals, including leisure activities they enjoy. They take into account the patient’s physical state as well as their belief system, lifestyle, and family support.
“We treat the entire person. Our goal is to get them back to normal and enjoying the things they used to enjoy,” said Elliot Katz, OTR/L.
If you would like to request an inpatient consult for occupational therapy please do so through PRISM. If you have any questions, please call (212) 420-2763.
Inpatient Occupational Therapists Elliot Katz, MS, OT/L; and Catherine Cordozo.
OTs celebrate OT Month with the physical therapy team at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Petrie. From left to right: Niurka Gonzalez, PT, ;Harrison Ehrlich, PT student; Dulce Pegarum, Senior PT; Rosanne Safreno, PT; Lauren Walker, SLP; myself; Elliot Katz, Senior OT; Frank Erkes, PT and Catherine Cardozo, OT.
Mount Sinai Union Square’s exceptional outpatient occupational therapists at Union Square include certified hand therapists (CHTs). They focus their treatment on orthopedic injuries of the upper extremity. They are experts in evaluating, treating, and splinting the elbow, wrist, and hand.
To schedule an appointment with a rehab occupational therapist at Union Square, please call (212) 844-8750.
Jenine Albright, OT for the Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance at Mount Sinai Union Square.
Mount Sinai Beth Israel also currently has four inpatient full-time behavioral health occupational therapists, an occupational therapist assistant, and an occupational therapist managing the outpatient psychiatry clinic. Under the Chief of Occupational Therapy Mary Petti-Weber, over the last 25+ years, occupational therapists at MSBI have helped patients affected by symptoms of mental illness “live life to the fullest” by engaging in meaningful occupations of daily living. Occupational therapists develop strong bonds with their patients by helping them maximize goals in self-care, cognition, life skills, and leisure to return to life roles, work, and school. For example, occupational therapy groups include meal planning and cooking, personal expression, symptom and stress management, grooming, and community reintegration.
Jessica Tyrrell, MS, OTR/L says, “The groups give them a great outlet for self-expression while learning skills to achieve greater functional outcome when discharged. It’s rewarding to watch them grow and resume their life role(s) after spending time with us.”
Psychiatry Occupational Therapists, left tor right: Lilya Berns, OTR; Henry Hanif, OTR; Tamara Matatova, student; Mary Petti-Weber, OTR; Jessica Tyrrell, OTR; Chrystelle Robinson, OTR; Heather Fitzsimmons, OTR; Carlton Mattison, OTA; kneeling: Ninel Bynyaminova and Corinna Kostikas, OT students.
Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | MSBI
Recently, I heard about two employees who worked together to organize the unit and workflow in their unit for the betterment of them, their colleagues, and their patients.
In the post anesthesia care unit (PACU) at Union Square, Luvia Anderson and Marjorie Phillips brainstormed together on simple but powerful changes that would benefit their work and the work of their team.
They assessed the large equipment in the area and moved some of the lesser-used items like cribs to isolated spaces away from patients. This action alone created more room for patient beds. They also added bins to organize the paper flowing in and out of the unit so that at any moment a staff member would know exactly what to do with the medical record or form. For the nurses’ station, they removed a chair to make more room and got a remote control for the buzzer so that they and other team members wouldn’t need to interrupt work to let someone in. The process for assigning beds was previously a verbal process without tracking, and Luvia and Marjorie created a patient flow chart that maintains a record of bed assignments for the unit.
I’m so impressed by their creativity and action. Small changes add up, and I learn so much from our colleagues every day. Thank you for sharing your ideas, for taking initiative to make things better, and I hope you will keep them coming.
Some Some of our leaders who trained in Just Culture.