Olivia DeCurtis, BSN

Olivia DeCurtis, BSN, Assistant Nurse Manager in the Emergency Department, The Mount Sinai Hospital, has long been a fan of the Mount Sinai Health System. “I grew up on Long Island, and when I needed a neurologist as a teenager, I was referred to Mount Sinai. I am still a patient of hers, today!” She majored in health care administration in college, but during her last semester, the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, and she felt a calling to care directly for patients. So she enrolled in the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Olivia liked the idea of attending a school affiliated with Mount Sinai and the ability to complete her education in 15 months. As classes began and clinical rotations followed, she fell even more in love with nursing.

Olivia’s first position after graduation was as a New Grad Fellow in the Emergency Department at The Mount Sinai Hospital. Olivia had completed her student clinical hours there, and she felt strongly that it  was the right place for her to begin her nursing career. “I loved the culture, teamwork, and leadership,” Olivia says. “The fellowship was a 24-week immersion into the ED, and everything clicked for me; it felt like a second home. The managers and the preceptors were outstanding and taught me so much.”

Olivia’s dedication, enthusiasm, and growing skills were instrumental to her winning Rookie of the Year Award for both The Mount Sinai Hospital Nurse Excellence Awards and the Mount Sinai Health System Emergency Nurse Awards. Recipients of Rookie of the Year have eighteen months or less experience working in the ED and consistently display confidence, initiative, and high potential in providing clinical care and contributing to the team’s success.

Olivia rose quickly to Charge Nurse and then her current position as Assistant Nurse Manager.

Olivia’s schedule is intense, but that has not stopped her from pursuing a dual MSN/MBA from Johns Hopkins University; she will graduate in 2026. “I feel that my calling is leadership. It comes naturally to me,” she says. “I love the bedside, but in a leadership role, I can be more of a role model and resource for my team and still make an impact in the clinical realm. So much of what I am learning right now in my classes I can apply directly to my clinical work.” Olivia plans to continue her education after earning her master’s degrees, and pursue a doctorate in executive leadership.

Ashley B. Caceres, MSN, RN, Director of Nursing, Emergency Services, The Mount Sinai Hospital, says Olivia is a natural born leader. “Since joining the team as a student, Olivia has showed great promise,” Ashley says. “She has grown tremendously in the department, and even as a new graduate nurse stood out as a leader and role model. I’m excited for what’s ahead.”

Olivia says, “The connections I have made throughout my time at Mount Sinai have been influential in my leadership development. Ashley has been a role model to me and has played an instrumental role in my leadership journey.”

Despite a full plate, Olivia has not forgotten her nursing school origins. She is currently helping a group of students in their final semester prepare for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). “Vivian Lien, DNP, RN, CNE, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Well-Being, was such a wonderful professor and mentor,” Olivia says. “She took me back with open arms. I am thrilled to be helping students cross their educational finish line.”

Irsa Quinones, RN, BSN

Irsa Quinones, RN, BSN, began working in the Department of Equipment Transport at The Mount Sinai Hospital in 2006. She was thrilled to be working in a health care setting, influenced partly by two aunts who were nurses and by her passion for taking care of people. Several years later, she decided she would apply to nursing school.

There were major challenges ahead. For one, she was a single mother of a young son and could not afford to work less than full time.

Irsa also faced another challenge—she has lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease. “I was impacted by lupus throughout my nursing journey, and it could have stopped me from continuing my education, but I was determined. I kept pushing toward my goal, no matter how much I had to endure.”

Irsa graduated in May 2023, and is now a nurse at The Mount Sinai Hospital Spine Center. She says the difficult road has been well worth any hardships. “I am so very happy to finally be a nurse at the hospital where I started my career in health care. I want to be there for patients, especially those going through hard times. I understand health challenges acutely. There is just not enough compassion in the world, and I want to be that compassionate and caring nurse.”

Camille Hamilton, BSN, RN, Nurse Manager at the Spine Center, adds, “Although Irsa is still fairly new to my team, she appears dedicated to being an excellent nurse.  She communicates well with her peers, health care team, patients, and family members, and takes pride in her work.”

Christopher Palamara, System Director, Patient and Equipment Transport, Mount Sinai Health System, worked with Irsa for almost 10 years and is not surprised she has made her dream come true. “Irsa is empathetic, patient-centered, hard-working, compassionate, innovative, creative, and a leader among her peers,” he says. “She is one of the best staff members I have ever had the privilege to lead, and I could not be prouder of her incredible growth.”

Leela Gupta, NP

On Sunday, May 18, Leela Gupta, NP, who works at The Mount Sinai Hospital on the Heart Transplant team, took her four-month-old puppy, Otis, out for a walk to McCarren Park, near her home in Brooklyn. She was walking along the track at the perimeter of a playing field when she heard a group of men screaming. They were playing soccer, so at first she thought there might be a fight over a disputed call. However, she looked over and noticed one of the players on the ground—a large man in his mid-60s who appeared lifeless, lying on his side.

She asked a bystander what was going on, and he said the player might be choking. She ran to assess the situation and announced she was a nurse practitioner trained in CPR. She noticed that the man had labored breathing and felt his neck for a carotid pulse, but could not feel one. She asked for help flipping the man from his side to his back, began CPR, and asked someone to call 911.

During compressions, Leela asked if anyone in the crowd knew CPR so she could alternate compressions, but no one responded. One of the players from the opposing team began to sing and clap the Bee Gees song “Staying Alive”, which Leela says was actually helpful. “It was total silence except for that song; the beat of which was perfectly timed to the rhythm of my chest compressions.”

A few minutes into providing CPR, Leela was worried her compressions would become compromised as she grew fatigued. Since no one else was trained in CPR, she instructed one of the man’s teammates to place his hands over the man’s sternum and provide compressions to the beat of the song. She kept her fingers on the victim’s femoral artery to ensure a palpable pulse during these brief breaks, which meant the compressions were effectively circulating blood and adequately performed. She rotated places with him for about ten minutes until Emergency Medical Services arrived.

The paramedics analyzed the man’s heart rate and provided one shock to the man’s heart using a defibrillator, and a heartbeat was restored. He was then transferred to a local hospital for further evaluation. “CPR is a lifesaving technique that helps circulate oxygenated blood until medical help arrives, but defibrillation is often needed to restore the heartbeat,” Leela says. “Without CPR, even if a heartbeat is later restored, the person in cardiac arrest risks brain injury or brain death from lack of oxygen.”

Leela has been in touch with the man’s daughter, who said her father is recovering from coronary artery bypass surgery.

“I am just relieved he is okay. Ironically, I care for very sick heart patients, but this is the first time I have ever had to perform CPR outside of the hospital setting. With no one else trained to do heart compressions on the field, and no automatic external defibrillator (AED) nearby, admittedly I was concerned about the outcome. Thinking about that day is sobering,” Leela says. “There had to be over 100 people at the scene, and not one person knew CPR. That is so scary. This man would have died had I not been at the right place at the right time, and sheds a light on the importance of all adults learning this truly lifesaving skill.”