By Dr. Jeremy Boal, President of Mount Sinai Downtown
I don’t have to tell you that working our way through the MSBI transformation is very complicated and dynamic. You are living it every day. We’ve learned that this much change, on top of an already demanding healthcare environment, requires a much more aggressive approach to identifying and solving the problems that get in the way of you and your colleagues doing your best work. In light of this, over the past year, we’ve taken a more proactive approach to solving problems that I want to tell you about.
Each morning at 9:00 am, my immediate team and I meet as a group to work on and solve current and ongoing issues that have been brought to our attention one way or another. We meet in the same room every day where we have a giant tracking board that we use to make sure that no issue, regardless of how big or how small, is ignored or forgotten. Here are some examples of things we’ve been working on recently…
Transport team staffing enhancements
Implementation of the hospital-wide security assessment recommendations
Nor-Easter preparations
A surgeon’s request for additional mid-level provider support in his practice
A staff member report of broken equipment on a behavioral health unit
Difficulty in obtaining Pyxis access for nurses floating to units
Resident difficult in accessing an elevator during a rapid response event
A request for a staff lounge for our CPEP unit
You get the idea. No issue is too small for us to take seriously. Everything that is reported to us matters. We keep a daily, weekly, and monthly grid of these topics – some things we can solve instantly and others are more complicated and take time to resolve. But we never give up.
Then, every day at 9:30 am, we join another 30 or so directors, managers, and department leads for our safety huddle. Our chief medical officer, Dr. Barbara Barnett, asks every hospital and ambulatory department to report on patient, staff, safety, and operational issues from the last 24 hours and for the next 24 hours. This meeting is all about connecting the right people and tackling daily challenges as quickly and collaboratively as possible. I’m often amazed at how rapidly our security, engineering, social work, environmental services, hospitalists, and so many other teams come to the rescue after this 9:30 am huddle. We truly have remarkable people taking care of us and our patients.
We want everyone in the organization to feel safe and comfortable bringing problems and ideas forward. In particular, we do not stand on ceremony with regard to traditional chains of command. We emphatically do not believe that rigid adherence to the traditional hierarchy (staff member to manager to director to vice president etc.) is healthy or required when things are as dynamic as they are here. The main thing is for you to feel comfortable bringing your problems and solutions to anyone you think will get the issue addressed. Many of our wonderful managers and supervisors can help you with your concerns. But, there is no wrong way to escalate any issue you are having. As we grow and change together, I hope you will reach out and let me know how we can help. You can e-mail me at any time. I would be so grateful to hear from you. Jeremy.Boal@mssm.edu.
By Dr. Jeremy Boal, President of Mount Sinai Downtown
I recently heard two stories about our patients and employees and their connections to animals. I hope they make you smile.
Maya Genovesi, a social worker in the ED, recently went to great lengths to ensure the care of a patient’s cat. The patient learned that she would be transferred to another hospital and would likely stay overnight, leaving her elderly Maine coon cat at home that has special medication and dietary needs. The patient did not have the contact information for her vet or other possible caregivers on her. Maya worked with her MSBI team, the patient’s other physicians, Animal Haven, and social workers at another hospital to ensure the patient could rest easy. Thank you for your compassion, Maya.
The team who helped take care of this patient, from left to right: Tina Mukwaya, social worker; Marc Felberbaum, MD; Gina Colon, RN, nursing supervisor; and Maya Genovesi, social worker.
Did you know MSBI has a small pet therapy program? Wonderful volunteers come with their pets a few times a month to Chelsea, Union Square, and Petrie to visit with patients and employees. You can see Stella, one of the therapy dogs below. As a dog-owner, I can say that even just a few minutes with these lovable creatures can brighten my day. This week we also hosted “Dogs for Docs” for our house staff, which was a fantastic opportunity for our residents to unwind with friends and paws.
By Dr. Jeremy Boal, President of Mount Sinai Downtown
I am excited to announce that MSBI ranks in the top 100 hospitals nationally in patient safety for cancer care and hip fracture repair on the CareChex® website. We also scored very high in interventional coronary care, stroke care, and other areas. I’m not surprised by these outcomes, and I am so appreciative of the thoughtful and safe care you provide our patients.
We also ranked highly with CareChex® last year, and you can see some of our many 2017 accomplishments in this video.
Some of the respiratory team members, celebrating Jessica’s birthday, from left to right: Sarah Ganpat, Medical Office Specialist (MOS); Sharanda James, MOS; Anna Malinowska, MOS; Sara Alayevaa, RN, Onaida Soto, Secretary; Donna McLenan, Secretary; and Rosaura Torres, Secretary. Not pictured: Practice Manager, Rosalba Perez.
In 2018, we continue to grow. We recently opened the Mount Sinai-National Jewish Health Respiratory Institute in Union Square, which will deliver interdisciplinary care for patients with all types of respiratory diseases. This practice includes many of our wonderful specialists from our pulmonary division, our new sleep medicine department, and a whole host of longstanding and new employees.
From left to right: Nakia Mitchell, Program Coordinator, and Eduardo Pagan, MOS.
From left to right: Jessica Matos, MOS; Bibi Udden, MOS; and Mohenna Charles, MOS.
Some members of our Mount Sinai Heart team, left to right: Edith Morgan, Mayra Alicea, Deepika Misra, MD, Claudia Fletcher, Lehi Pilarte, Denise Bracero, Lena Chang, Director of Nursing, Invasive Cardiac Services, Yuri Suaro, Yelena Fuzaylova, Practice Administrator.
It has already been an exciting start to the year for our South of 34th Street network. Union Square opened two brand new suites last month.
In one of these suites on the second floor is our Union Square cardiology team, now known as Mount Sinai Heart. The multi-disciplinary ambulatory practice will offer care for coronary heart disease, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and many other conditions as well as access to electrophysiology, interventional cardiology and other procedures. Their new suite is beautiful and has been bustling with patients the past few weeks.
Mount Sinai Heart’s practice administrator, Yelena Fuzaylova, returned to Union Square last year. During her prior time here she spent nine years in the department of surgery and then left to explore other opportunities. After a few months away, she realized her heart was here.
“The people here are great. MSBI folks are down-to-earth and approachable. It feels like a family,” Yelena said.
We are thrilled to have her back and even more thrilled that she and her team have such a beautiful new space.
Last week, we also celebrated “Go Red for Women” to bring awareness to heart disease. Wonderful employees from many departments joined together and hosted a fair that featured CPR instruction, healthy snacks, dietary coaching, cholesterol readings, and more. Check out our staff in red below.
I cannot believe it’s already February. Time flies when your job is as rewarding as mine.
I’ve had some time to reflect on what we’ve accomplished in 2017. I am so grateful to you all for your incredible dedication during a year of so much change. My thoughts are best summed up in the video below. Click below and see if you can spot one of your colleagues.
9 Silver team members with NYPD auxiliary and patient, Evelyn Camacho, first row, left to right: Phoebe Andaya, RN; Evelyn Camacho; Marian Abbey, PCA; Nicole Bennett, PCA; back row, left to right: Sandra Warner, PCA; Valentina Nicaj, RN; Colleen Fischer, RN.
With 33 beds, our 9 Silver medicine unit is one of the largest in the hospital. The staff takes care of a wide range of patients. Many of our colleagues on this unit have been at MSBI for a long time. They all do an excellent job staying flexible and mindful in such a fast-paced environment.
A great example of this is Patricia Diaz, RN, who recently noticed that a patient’s medication did not match the prescription written on her record. The two medications had similar names, and this great catch helped ensure that the patient was kept safe. Thank you for your incredible professionalism, Patricia.
On Wednesday, 9 Silver was flooded with NYPD police officers from the 44th precinct. They congratulated patient Evelyn Camacho for her more than 35 years of service as an Auxiliary Captain in the precinct and appointed her to Deputy Inspector. Evelyn was extremely moved by this great honor and by the care she received from our amazing 9 Silver staff.
Thank you for supporting New York’s finest and for providing excellent care to our community.
