Our sign language interpreters provide a great service to our patients who are Deaf and hard of hearing.

Many of our ASL interpreters, from left to right: Heather Paradise, Nina Sturmer, Maria Towe, Donna Lee, and Hinde Nessanbaum.

Our team of eight nationally-certified American Sign Language interpreters specializes in medical interpreting.  They provide services to both inpatient and ambulatory patients at Petrie and Union Square, including our ED, psychiatry department, inpatient units, and other specialty areas. I’m thankful for the mindful way they interact with our patients, facilitating communication while allowing the patients to develop relationships with their caregivers. Hinde Nessanbaum, the coordinator of sign language interpreters, Laura Hoffman, and Maria Towe have all been at MSBI more than 20 years.

Laura Hoffman describing a surgical procedure.

We recently cared for a patient who is Deaf after surgery who had a complex array of challenges. Our interpreters were there with the patient at every critical moment in care. Physical Therapist Franklin Erkes, along with interpreters Maria Towe and Nina Sturmer, showed incredible patience and persistence in helping this patient recover movement without pain. There was also a PCA, Melissa Hodges, who chose to spend her own free time with the patient. Melissa has been learning sign language and kept the patient company when the patient didn’t have visitors or aides. All of these relationships helped the patient heal with confidence and ease. Thank you all for your excellent service.

Franklin Erkes, PT

Melissa Hodge, PCA

This week I’d like to feature our admitting team for our addiction programs which include inpatient rehab and detox, and outpatient rehab and clinics.

The program was integrated in 1985 and has been known as Stuyvesant Square Chemical Dependency Program, or “Stuy Square” since then. The staff help coordinate the care for walk-up patients seeking help with alcohol or drug abuse disorders. These patients are courageous in seeking help at what often feels like their lowest moment, and their interactions with our admitting team can be emotional and challenging. I’m thankful that our employees treat them with the highest respect.

Members of our Stuy Square admitting team from left to right: Luis Maldonado, admitting specialist; Jackie Woods, admitting specialist; Adela Reyes, admitting specialist; Guillermo Munoz, secretary; Chris Kudrich, PA; Leslie Koranteng, manager. Not pictured: Alexandria Forbes, admitting specialist, Alison Sims, financial counselor, and Nancy Gonzalez, secretary.

Jackie Woods has been at MSBI for 20 years and works as an admitting specialist. On connecting with struggling patients she says, “I try to find something in common with them. Maybe they have kids or live in the neighborhood. Then they will often calm down, and they always remember that you treated them with respect.”

Members of our utilization team: Lorraine Rose-St. John, Harry Johnson, and manager Monique Hanson.

Nancy Gonzalez, secretary, said the team understands each other’s roles. “Like the limbs of the body work together to move someone, we support each other and work together to offer the best patient care.”

Over the past year, the team has created intentional communication touchpoints throughout the admitting process with patients, fostering processes that help them remain calm and positive. Because of all these efforts, walkouts have been greatly reduced.

Our secretaries greet incoming patients who then meet with an admitting specialist and a financial counselor. Utilization specialists help verify insurance status. We have a rotation of behavioral health physician assistants who assess the patients’ physical and mental needs before referring them to our many programs.

PAs Kristina Gurgov and Jessica Desalvo. PAs not pictured include Glennis Edwards-Guishard, Danielle DeFrancis, Sheila Gonzalez, Julia Alishayev, and Linda Niyazov.

In the coming months, we will be partnering with other addiction sites within the Mount Sinai Health System under the larger umbrella of the Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai. We will continue to offer the same services we have today and will have increased access to research on emerging therapies and scientific advances serving the needs of patients with substance abuse disorders. These collaborations will help us become an even more powerful place for change to happen.

Over the past few months, we’ve made it a point to round daily so that we have a better sense of what is working and also what we can better for you and for our patients. During this time, I’ve learned so much about our employees professionally and personally. You all inspire me and each other.

We visited employees at Petrie, Union Square, Chelsea, Water Street, and a few of our Opioid Treatment Programs and other ambulatory locations, and asked them three questions: