I am incredibly proud to work among social workers who during the pandemic have continued to work on- and off-site and show up for our patients each day. I won’t forget the countless calls, speaking to grieving wives, husbands, and caregivers. Or when I tried to explain to a case manager that their client wasn’t responding to treatment and was being moved to the palliative care floor. I will never forget the moment I promised to walk a grieving wife’s husband to the morgue because she couldn’t be there to say goodbye. I will always remember expediting the transportation request to send a patient safely back to his nursing home, so he could spend his last moments with his wife. I will remember every single patient’s family member I have spoken to on the phone, some for almost an hour, listening to them tell me about their loved one who they can’t be with while they are fighting for their lives. I won’t forget.

Erin Kelley, LMSW
Social Services
The Mount Sinai Hospital

Inventory analyst Margaret Samuels has been in charge of making sure the Emergency Department is stocked with PPE. Margaret has delivered PPE quickly and promptly when needed. At the height of the outbreak, she was like a bright light in a storm when she would arrive with shields, N-95s, and surgical masks. No matter how many times we called Margaret during a shift, she was there. Before she would leave to go home, she would check to make sure we were fully stocked with PPE for the overnight. Margaret is one of our star team members and we all thank her.

Fionnuala Quigley, RN
Emergency Department
Mount Sinai Queens

 I would like to thank Kelsey Moyer, RN, and her entire team of PACU nurses for their outstanding dedication, care, and service to our patients during the COVID-19 crisis. PACU nurses not only faced the challenges of COVID, but also had to quickly develop new skill sets to provide palliation and end-of-life care for critically ill and dying patients. We can only describe the way they worked as a symphony of compassionate care, where each nurse knew how to support our Palliative Care team, support the patient, and support the family. The beautiful harmony of your nursing care will never be forgotten!

Lilian Espinoza, LCSW
Palliative Care
Mount Sinai Queens

I am a nurse practitioner in the Department of Neurosurgery at Mount Sinai. Since 2018, a group of nursing leaders and advanced practice providers (nurse practitioners and physician assistants) in Neurosurgery have partnered with a four-year bachelor’s level nursing program in the Democratic Republic of Congo Monkole Hospital through the Harambee USA Foundation to provide scholarships to deserving nursing students. During the height of our difficult COIVD-19 times (late March through mid-April) the scholarship students at Monkole were supporting us at Mount Sinai with love, gratitude, and prayers!  It would be beautiful if this solidarity of professional nurses from Monkole and Mount SInai would be noted among our positive COVID memories.

Johanna Valiquette, NP
Department of Neurosurgery
The Mount Sinai Hospital

Today, we had travelers, per diems, and three new RNs, who all started on the same day. Although Winnie Luk, RN, is a fairly new nurse, she really took initiative to be the charge nurse today, and she did a great job! Winnie remains unflustered, no matter what her assignment brings her. Happy to have her on our team!

Mindy Wirth, MSN, RN
Nurse Manager, 4 East
Mount Sinai Queens

Medical assistant Carol Hannibal has helped the Nursing Education Department tremendously. She has quickly adapted to her temporary role and has provided the department with creative ideas to streamline our administrative processes here. I commend her flexibility to work in our department and she will be greatly missed when she returns to her regular assignment!

Keiana Caesar, Secretary
Nursing Education
Mount Sinai Queens

Peterson Masigan, MSN, RN, is phenomenal. He was redeployed from the Neurology Department, where he is the stroke team coordinator, to manage a new COVID unit, 10 Silver. This dedicated employee stepped up to the plate. He went above and beyond to supply all the information and equipment we needed to provide excellent patient care. Peterson was always ready to facilitate a Zoom meeting, or check in on a patient if the monitor was alarming when the other staff members were busy elsewhere. When Peterson was on the unit and there was a need, it was a done deal. He was a breath of fresh air in a trying time.

Elizabeth Phillips, RN
Mount Sinai Beth Israel

Kamilia Ait Belkacem started her career as a physician assistant right as the pandemic hit, and she has proved to be a great team member. She takes her work seriously, and you can really tell that she cares about her patients. She is great at procedures and at identifying patients’ needs. If you work with Kamilia, you would not be able to tell that she is a newly graduated PA. I am so impressed with the level of skill that she has reached.

Amani Choudhury, PA
Department of Medicine
Mount Sinai Queens

Simon Mejia is an integral part of the Emergency Department. I know when he is working, the ED is clean and welcoming. I appreciate Simon and his quality as an Infection Control Specialist (Housekeeping). He demonstrates professionalism in all his doings, when he is asked for assistance he never says no, he completes what he is doing and does it well. He analyzes what is to be anticipated and helps the nurses to ensure we work in a clean environment. He is respectful towards himself, visitors, and staff. Thank you, Simon!

Elisa Scarselli, RN
Emergency Department
Mount Sinai West

In what felt like an overnight transition, the Medical Staff Services team transitioned to a remote workforce supporting the physician and advanced practice staffing needs for the entire system.  The team transitioned from working a routine 8 am -5 pm business schedule, to working in shifts to provide coverage to align with the care teams and provide ongoing support to assist with the recruitment, privileging, on-boarding, and deployment of all providers.  More than 2,000 providers were screened and vetted by the team to determine which volunteer providers were qualified to assist with the COVID-19 pandemic, and they worked all hours and throughout the night to ensure that the providers who were traveling from all over the country were able to easily make the transition to become a member of our care teams.  I could not be more proud to partner and work alongside such a dedicated team, who played a significant role in ensuring there was sufficient coverage for all of the patient care needs.

Anne Roberts
Vice President, Medical Staff Services
Mount Sinai Health System

Lisagay Clarke, CNA, worked an extra shift to help us when we were short-staffed. Even when she was tired from the extra shift, she worked so hard to feed patients and stay on top of her care rounding. She clearly has so much compassion for her patients and her co-workers.

Anna Lee, RN
2 East
Mount Sinai Queens

Gabrielle Ninonuevo, RN, was a calm and supportive presence yesterday for one of our long-term NICU families during the traumatic loss of their baby on Mother’s Day. Gaby took such care with the mom and balancing the emotional needs of the family and her clinical responsibilities. She was so helpful to collaborate with and took on an active role in helping the family engage in memory-making so I could step out to check on other families to help them celebrate Mother’s Day.

Lindsay Davis, Child Life Specialist
The Mount Sinai Hospital

Magalie Cavalier, CNA, takes care of COVID-19 patients with extraordinary compassion and heart. I am constantly impressed by her professionalism, humanity, and hard-working spirit. COVID patients with no family around are in great hands with Magalie here.

Anna Lee, RN
2 East
Mount Sinai Queens

Maria Fernandez, left, and Katelyn Abate.

Chi Time makes a significant difference! It is snacks-on-wheels with a smile. Maria Fernandez and Katelyn Abate, occupational therapists in Rehabilitation Medicine, wheel their cart full of healthy snacks and tea around Mount Sinai West from the Lower Level to the top on the 14th Floor. It caters to everyone from every department. It reminds those who pass by to take that break. Thank you, Maria and Katelyn. You are the staff-care team behind those wheels. You refresh our spirits.

Priscilla Loanzon, EdD, RN
Director, Center for Advanced Medical Simulation
Mount Sinai West

Patient Coordinator Mark Maduro and I have become the dynamic duo in calling and rescheduling patients. I can always count on Mark to help me out. Thank you!

Janet Quizhpi, Medical Assistant
Mount Sinai Doctors – Astoria

I would like to recognize Astrid Lenis, administrator of Radiation Oncology at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, and Caldwell Starleigh, my supervisor. Here is the reason: On April 20, I volunteered at Petrie Pharmacy because I wanted to do more for COVID patients and my co-workers, so I gave up my 8 am to 4 pm shift for a 4 pm to 12 am shift. On my third day, I was sick, and I was positive for COVID-19. I was heartbroken because I was not able to work and help others. Astrid and Star checked up on me—not to ask me when I was coming to work, but to ask if I had food, if I was safe.

I only started working at Radiation Oncology in January of this year. Astrid and Star showed me the “Commitment to Caring” standards of the Mount Sinai family. I had to tell them both how grateful I am to be alive and to have them in my life.

Alfred Almodovar
Secretary
Radiation Oncology
Mount Sinai Union Square

Comfort Agyare, operating room unit clerk, has gone above and beyond to make patients feel comfortable and relaxed as they manage their anxiety during this stressful time.

Pamela Rosal
Materials Coordinator, Sterile Processing
Mount Sinai Queens

While walking away from the hospital last week, a gentleman rested his bags down and asked if we could talk. He said that he had been sick with COVID-19 last month and was admitted right here at Mount Sinai Queens for two weeks. During our conversation, he broke into tears; he said that the staff here saved his life. He specifically mentioned Gina Revilla-Dueno, CNA, and said she was “amazing” for the excellent care she provided during his stay. Gina is indeed amazing. Her formula for care delivery consistently aligns with our values and vision, and it left a mark on this gentleman.

Denise Hamilton, RN
Assistant Director of Nursing
Mount Sinai Queens

Tiago Maltez in Housekeeping has exhibited leadership qualities in the brief time that he’s been here at Mount Sinai. He always makes sure that his team is put in the best position to succeed. His consistent leadership has enhanced daily morale as we go about our day to day duties and patient transportation. We are so lucky to have someone like Tiago!

Reginald Plummer
Patient Transport
The Mount Sinai Hospital

The 3 East team wants to recognize Krystal Cascetta, MD, for all that she has done for staff and for patients during the COVID-19 crisis. She remains empathetic to her patients, explaining things in a way they understand, and she is always attentive to the nursing staff in answering questions and helping out. She has integrated into the team exceptionally, and we are so lucky to have a doctor like her to partner with in the care of patients that are suffering from the virus. Thank you, Dr. Cascetta, from all of us on 3 East.

Anthony Auditore, RN
Nurse Manager
3 East
Mount Sinai Queens

Saleema Stanislaus, Medical Clinical Associate, is a mom of two young children—ages 15 months and 7 years —and has been an employee of Mount Sinai for a year. She volunteered to give out PPE at 7 Linsky for the evening shift, from 3 pm to 11 pm, for four weeks. She is currently fasting during for Ramadan and still finds a way to help during this COVID-19 pandemic. I would like to say thank you!

Ashley Boswell
Lead medical clinical associate
Mount Sinai Doctors – West 23rd Street

A patient’s daughter was extremely grateful for the care and empathy displayed by Mercedes Estevez, RN, Clinical Nurse on GP9, especially in the patient’s last moments. Although the family did not arrive until the patient had passed, Mercedes stayed by the patient’s bedside and held hand until she peacefully drifted away, providing that comforting presence to the patient in her final moments.

Stephen Lin
Patient Representative
The Mount Sinai Hospital

I would like to recognize my co-worker Omar Singh, a pharmacy technician, for the effortless work during the most busy days of COVID-19. He is delivering all the medications needed in all the units, loading them in our Pyxis machines. He is a calm person and doesn’t hesitate to go and deliver all the drugs needed during his shift. He has stayed strong and dedicated to our Pharmacy during all the difficult times.

Victoria Rabanal
Pharmacy Technician
Mount Sinai Brooklyn

Talia Stark, MD, and Aaron Lesser celebrating on their big day.

One of my friends who works for Mount Sinai thought that you might be happy to get a feel-good story:  My girlfriend Talia Stark, MD, was reassigned about five weeks ago from her surgical residency over to the COVID ICU at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and has been an absolute champ, working incredibly hard in an unfamiliar environment–moving from surgery to medicine–with a very challenging schedule. She was working six-day work weeks with 15-hour days at the peak of things. On Thursday, April 23, I surprised Talia with a proposal on her fire escape at 7 pm, just at the city was saluting health care workers and all they do. A neighbor shot a video for us, and our happy moment was reported on CBSN New York. By the way, she said yes!

Aaron Lesser

Carla Alves-Miraldo, RN, Senior Clinical Nurse, has been a resource for patients requiring palliative care throughout the hospital.  She is providing coaching to nurses who are not as familiar with a palliative plan of care to ensure patient goals and wishes are honored.  Rehab has called her on multiple occasions to review cases and she is always available with clinical expertise and professionalism.  She is even helping transport patients to ensure a safe transition to the PCU.  Thank you Carla!

Amy Newman
Assistant Nurse Manager
The Mount Sinai Hospital

Today marked the welcome returns of Jay Dubowsky, MD, and Michael Mannino, MD, from their deployment to Mount Sinai South Nassau. In talking to both over the past weeks, it was obvious that, while the hours were long and the work demanding both physically and emotionally, there was a true sense of dedication and purpose in their work. I received accolades about their skills and teamwork from their colleagues at South Nassau. But this didn’t surprise me, having worked with them for the past twenty years.  Knowing them, I’m certain they viewed this experience as a privilege to serve. We at Mount Sinai Doctors – Manhasset give them our greatest thanks and appreciation.

Steve Tranchina, MD
Medical Director
Department of Medicine
Mount Sinai Doctors – Manhasset

Social worker Elhassane Aghazzaf, LSCW, went out of his way to obtain a replacement CPAP machine for a patient whose machine had malfunctioned. He spoke with the patient, researched the CPAP company, called the representative, obtained the patient’s insurance information, and even coordinated transportation for the patient back to his shelter. Hassan went above and beyond his duty and deserves recognition for his efforts.

Ahmed Chaudhry, MD
Emergency Medicine
Mount Sinai Queens

Food and Nutrition staff Lewis Garnett (known to all as “Mr. Lou”) and Maldorn “Trini” Marajeen.

It would fill a whole library to write about all the heroic moments of Mount Sinai West Strong Teamwork. It brings tears of admiration and awe. Our physicians, nurses, EMTs, and paramedics are the front-line health care workers. I like to think of other workers as the “front-runners.” Among those our Patient Support Services teams, led by Jocelyn Fuller, who are always on the run, meeting the urgent needs of the front-line team members who take care of our patients. Together, we can “harmonize and humanize” a precarious pandemic situation with our strong teamwork as a Mount Sinai Health System community; a place deep in our hearts tells us so.

Priscilla Loanzon
Director, Center for Advanced Medical Simulation
Mount Sinai West

Abigail Belasen, MD, has seamlessly integrated into our 10 Center COVID unit family. She is incredibly helpful and always willing to come and evaluate a patient or listen to concerns. She is creative and extremely empathetic. She truly acknowledges the human experience of both the patients and staff during this difficult time and does whatever she can to support us all. She is a valued member of the team, and we feel so lucky to have her!

Elizabeth Tortu, RN
Clinical Nurse
The Mount Sinai Hospital

Vanessa Andara at Mount Sinai Doctors – Astoria, has shown great teamwork and empathy in the clinic, but also while working in the café—where she was deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic. She runs that café as smoothly as possible! Thanks, Vanessa, for giving us the lunch updates!

Caterina D’Alessandro
Medical Assistant
Mount Sinai Doctors – Astoria

Desktop Support Specialist Leon Villa continues to commute to work to the heart of midtown at the Corporate Services Center on 42nd Street to provide computer support for Mount Sinai. With the sudden thrust of everyone into having VPN access, Mr. Villa and the Information Technology Department are managing the immense load of tickets submitted daily. Many times they are going from floor to floor rebooting computers, loading software, or remoting into our home desktop to resolve issues so that we may continue our work from home without missing a beat. Thank you to Leon Villa, Joseph Santella, and the IT Department at Mount Sinai.

Kelly Ware
Data Analyst II
Finance Department
Corporate Services Center

James Salonia, MD

Kudos to our Chef Tim Dugan and his amazing team Nastassia Boyce, Trushia Sylvain, and Michelle Gibbs-Charles! They sent me off with a boxful of Girls Scout Cookies for our Critical Care Attending Physician Hero James Salonia, MD, who has been tirelessly taking care of our very sick patients. I told the team that Dr. Salonia loves Girls Scout cookies. Dr. Salonia had just had a hard day, but was all smiles and very happy to receive those cookies, which he immediately shared with his team. He thanks everyone for such an act of kindness.

Priscilla Loanzon
Director, Center for Advanced Medical Simulation
Mount Sinai West

Suzanne Hanen, NP, spent the entire last hour of a patient’s life with him last week, as he had no one in his family to sing his name. She stayed with him in a COVID room until he died—bringing him the care, the tenderness, the compassion, and the humanity he deserved. This patient was known for being feisty and rebellious; instead of squashing or marginalizing him, she came to him in fellowship to fly that flag. Thank you, Suzanne, for the empathy, caring, authentic generosity of spirit, and integrity that you bring every day, and especially to this patient. May you both be blessed.

Rachelle Zazzu, Chaplain
Spiritual Care
Mount Sinai Queens

Our team in the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit would like to recognize Koichi Nomoto, MD, PhD. You can always find Dr. Koichi at the bedside helping nurses and patients. He truly always goes above and beyond for our team and patients. All of the nurses from the CSICU would like to personally thank him for his amazing support during these challenging times.

Mackenzy Scott, RN, BSN
Nurse Manager
Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit
The Mount Sinai Hospital

Proning team at The Mount Sinai Hospital.

I want to thank all my colleagues in the proning team for doing an amazing job in the past month I’ve been working with them. We are from different departments and joined together as one, to form this team. Our job is to go around the COVID-19 units and prone patients on vents to help them breathe better. It is a last effort in order to help patients to survive on these vents. There have been patients benefiting from this, and it is rewarding to hear we are doing something good. It is scary to constantly go in and out of these rooms being exposed, but this team always has each other’s backs. We always check on each other making sure we have the proper PPE on before we go in and assure each other we’ll be OK. I couldn’t have been placed with a better group. I love and appreciate them all.

Jessica Regos, RVS
Vascular Ultrasound
The Mount Sinai Hospital 

Stevene Marquez, CNA, takes care of COVID-positive patients with exceptional heart. Even with special PPE requirements and so many patients, he has been making sure every patient is eating and resting, with no needs unmet. Last week, his wife even brought brownies for all of us!

Anna Lee, RN
2 East
Mount Sinai Queens

 I’ve had the opportunity to work with Samantha Collins, RN, while I’ve been redeployed to Nursing Education. She was so welcoming during my first week. I learned a lot by watching her on the floor, talking to the staff. It was a great experience working with her to help educate our nursing staff and make Mount Sinai Queens more prepared for whatever comes at us next.

John Quijije, RN
Family Health
Mount Sinai Queens

Nancy Ngok, RN, was a bedside nurse for a COVID-19-positive mom in KP7, and we collaborated to do a Zoom session for the mom to see her baby down in the NICU. Nancy was more than willing to create a Zoom account in order to make this session work for this family. It was very comforting to watch Nancy work with the family and to know that our patients are in good hands with employees like Nancy. I am happy and honored to work with her!

Claire Pettengill
Child Life Specialist
The Mount Sinai Hospital

From left, residents Sarah Yun, PharmD; Carli Beal, PharmD; and Kyle Farina, PharmD.

On Saturday, April 18, the pharmacy was contacted to send 1,000 vials of neuromuscular blocker to our sister site, Mount Sinai Morningside. Three pharmacy residents—Carli Beal, Kyle Farina, and Sarah Yun—who were onsite doing their assigned responsibilities jumped in and helped me count, box up, and load into a van 1,000 vials of this critical medication to transport across town. Without being asked, they helped make an arduous task almost effortless because of their teamwork. We were able to do it together in under an hour! They saved my day, and I am very grateful.

Simone Muller, PharmD
Clinical Manager, Pharmacy
The Mount Sinai Hospital

Nicole Ollivierra, a business associate in Restorative Rehabilitation, has been a rock of support to our team on KCC2S during the COVID-19 response. She is resourceful, positive, smart, steadfast, and hard working. Our unit functions smoothly because Nicole is aware of the needs of her teammates and our patients. Nicole takes ownership of and pride in her work and it is reflected in the strong relationships she has with all of the staff. She is a trusted colleague. Thank you Nicole!!!

Amy Newman, RN
Assistant Nurse Manager
The Mount Sinai Hospital

Christine Murphy, Senior Physician Assistant for Orthopedics, was redeployed as a result of elective surgeries being canceled during the COVID-19 crisis. Christine took the role of lead PPE coach, to train other redeployed staff who were assigned to PPE distribution points outside of COVID-specific units. The unit-based PPE coaches distributed PPE to staff working on the units, assuring they had everything they needed to protect themselves and knew how to properly don the PPE upon entry and doff the PPE upon exit. Christine worked closely with Krystina Woods, MD, our Director of Infection Prevention, on this process, and in creating a training video for proper use of PPE.

Brian Miller
Director, Marketing and Communications
Mount Sinai West

Today on KCC9, I observed business associate Marie Rodriguez handle multiple incoming calls from COVID patients’ family members who desperately wanted to receive a medical update about their loved ones.  Marie handled the calls in English and Spanish with great empathy, calm, and professionalism. Thank you so much for keeping our patients and families connected during this crisis!

Silvina de la Iglesia, Associate Director
Language Services
The Mount Sinai Hospital

Lorraine Lifumbe, LPN

I’d like to thank Lorraine Lifumbe, LPN, for an  act of kindness. I was struggling carrying a heavy loaded box of cans of flavored bottled water to take to our Critical Care Physician Heroes. While waiting for the elevator, Lorraine saw me and graciously offered to carry the box for me, taking off a heavy load. I was so relieved and grateful. We don’t know each other. I am amazed that this COVID-19 situation provides many opportunities to know more of our co-workers and how amazing each one is.

Priscilla Loanzon
Director, Center for Advanced Medical Simulation
Mount Sinai West

Diana Verdejo Flores was one of the first medical assistants to be deployed to a different site to help with the COVID crisis. She accepted one of the “unpopular” shifts (weekends and overnights) without complaint and put on a courageous face and attitude as she enters the battlefield. She had to adjust her sleep schedule in less than a day and put her all her concerns and worries aside before she started her shift. She is a kind and hard-working individual. I sincerely thank her for all her hard work and sacrifice.

Xiu Huang, Billing Coordinator
Otolaryngology
5 East 98th Street

Tatjana Trajkova, RN, is an exemplary employee. When she is in charge, she makes sure her team is taken care of—demonstrating empathy, teamwork, and professionalism  She is very approachable with any issue one may have, and she is sensitive to other staff members and visitors. I have never seen TJ get upset. She is proactive, honest, and demonstrates transparency. If TJ is wrong or views other people’s views differently, she will admit it. I enjoy working with her. From the beginning days of the pandemic until now, she has been the same TJ—but even better.

Elisa Scarselli, RN
Emergency Department
Mount Sinai West

Jeofrey Gacad, a unit clerk in the Emergency Department, showed great teamwork in preparing coronavirus grab kits. Though it’s not part of his official duties, he did this work selflessly for the safety of his co-workers and of his community. In addition, he did this work on his day off—an example of going above and beyond for the people he works with.

Fionnuala Quigley, RN
Emergency Department
Mount Sinai Queens

It’s very rare to have a co-worker who displays all of the Mount Sinai values at the same time, but Alyjah Luna, Central Supply Tech,  Materials Management,  has gone above and beyond what is expected from anyone in his capacity. Throughout the last few weeks, Alyjah has continuously provided leadership and has assisted the Emergency Department in every way possible: Finding us supplies on a moment’s notice; stocking all supplies appropriately, not just for his shift but every shift; communicating directly with managers, charge nurses, and all staff to see if they need anything. He has shown excellent judgment by not providing too much supplies to any single person, but instead communicates to them what is appropriate for them to have. Alyjah’s presence has been comforting, and the ED has been lucky to have him, especially during these trying times.

Jeofrey Gacad, Unit Clerk
Emergency Department
Mount Sinai Queens

From left, Andres Moreira with team members Abbe Frank and Yolanda Ramos.

Andres Moreira, Senior Director of Patient Experience and Patient Relations, and all the Patient Service Center team members at Mount Sinai West have done an incredible job connecting patients with their family and loved ones. By leveraging new technology to set up Zoom meetings, we have been able to facilitate meaningful connection when our patients need it most.

Patrick Healy
Associate Director
Clinical Innovation

I would like to recognize the Emergency Department housekeeper Simon Mejias. Simon is always pleasant to the patients and staff. He never hesitates to assist his co-workers and does a great job keeping the ED clean.

Lyzette Borrero, BSN
Emergency Department
Mount Sinai West

Throughout the pandemic, I continued to support our cochlear implant (CI) patients to ensure their equipment was in good working order as well as connect patients with the CI manufacturers or any other resources needed to troubleshoot issues so that patients could stay engaged with current events, friends, and family members while in quarantine. We were able to remotely make program adjustments so that children could access computers for online learning, and continually contact many of our senior clients to check-in and let them know we were there for them.

Lorie Singer
Technical Services Coordinator
Cochlear Implants

This moment in our lives has been emotional and sometimes alarming. One day that I had to work in the 4 East Department is where it hit me the most—having to see all of the sick patients lying on their beds, waiting for a nurse to take care of them. My job was to help answer the phones as family members called to speak to their loved ones. I will never forget those calls. One family member was crying when she called to check on her Mom’s status. The daughter said, ”Please check on my Mom, I was on the phone with her not too long ago, and she stopped responding. I would like to know if she’s OK.” I gave my all and went to check if the Mom was OK. It turned out that she had fallen asleep, but I also checked with the nurse to get more information on how she was doing. The nurse told me the Mom had no more fever, and she was doing better. I would take my time and do the same thing with every patient. Every call I got, I was friendly and loving. This whole experience made me very emotional, because we don’t know when we will lose our love ones. Every morning I would walk through the lobby and say to myself, “This job is for me, I am a fighter, ‘I got this.”

Nicaury Peralta
Patient Coordinator
Mount Sinai Queens

Thomas Wolkowski, a dietary aide, has done an amazing job of always keeping a friendly smile on his face. During this stressful time, he has been having wonderful conversations with patients to distract them from being in the hospital.

Muslima Munim, RN
Mount Sinai Queens  

During the pandemic, the Ear Institute’s Speech Language Pathologists continued to work with patients and their families virtually. The pathologists were so excited to see how quickly children adapted to this change in service-delivery. One benefit of providing services virtually is that speech language pathologists were able to coach parents to employ the relevant strategies in the home during family specific routines while using their child’s favorite toys.  We are very appreciative of all of the parents and caregivers who partnered with us by providing the necessary support, which is so important to the development of their child’s listening and spoken-language skills.

Nicole Klein, MS
Speech Language Pathologist
Ear Institute at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai

Raisa Dzhurayeva is an exemplary Clinical Assistant to Mark Courey, MD. Although she is working from home, she is still making the best out of the current situation. She remains diligent and is on top of the provider’s schedule. She makes sure every patient is getting the appropriate care and shows excellent communication skills with the team. She is a hard worker and does not let any situation stop her from doing the work that needs to be done.

Xiu Huang, Billing Coordinator
Otolaryngology
5 East 98th Street

David Powell, a mechanic in Environmental Services, was phenomenal in helping us prepare space for ED surge. He has also been proactive about the designated isolation rooms so he knows where they are.

Carla Moscoso, Director
Mount Sinai Doctors Astoria

I was deployed to Mount Sinai Brooklyn and worked three 12-hour shifts on three of their COVID units. They use the EPIC charting system, which is different from the system used at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai. My role was to help the RNs do finger sticks, EKGs and other tasks as required. I was glad to be able to play a small role in helping COVID-19 patients. The biggest challenge I faced there was seeing so many scared and very sick patients not being able to have family with them. I tried to make sure patients could charge their cellphones so they could stay in contact with family members. While this was a very challenging situation, I am grateful I got to help ease the burden for the nurses and staff at Mount Sinai Brooklyn.

Erin Campbell, RN
New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai

Since the beginning of this pandemic, we have been present, front and center. We are not doctors, nurses, respiratory techs or housekeepers, but just as important, we are radiographers. The Radiology Department’s technologists are in constant contact with COVID-19 patients, helping to support doctors and allowing them to be able to “see” patients’ condition, helping them via imaging to determine a diagnosis. With countless orders of X-rays, CAT scans, MRI and IR cases, we as technologists deal with these patients first-hand day in and day out, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We make every patient our priority, and every study exam is as important as the last. As other front-liners received well-deserved praise and support, we also want to express our pride in the role that our field and practice play in this ongoing crisis.

Lissette Cuevas, Radiographer
Radiology
Mount Sinai Morningside

Before Mount Sinai eliminated visitor access to the morgue, I had several patient expirations in a single day, and Jennifer Cameron, the morgue manager, was unfailingly kind and supportive of both me and patients’ families. Jennifer never rushed a family’s grieving process and went above and beyond to ensure that family members were able to get closure and see their loved one after their passing. She is calm and gracious and so unbelievably in demand right now, but you wouldn’t know it from working with her. She remains focused and empathic, despite how exceedingly busy her unit is.

Dianna Ripley, LMSW
Emergency Department
The Mount Sinai Hospital

We had a COVID patient who had no appetite. A patient care associate offered the patient what we had in the pantry, trying to get her to eat something, but she refused all. On that same day, the actress Jessica Chastain sent a box full of snacks, which we kept at the front desk. Ester Yoo finally thought of the gift box, and offered the patient a banana walnut muffin from the selection, and the patient accepted!

Later, Ester seemed sad, and I asked her what was wrong. She said, “I gave my banana muffin away; do you know how much I love banana bread?” We both laughed so hard. I turned around and gave her mine. She was stunned and said, “No, but what about you?” I said,  “I’m OK, as much as I love banana muffins, I do know how to make them. I just haven’t had the time.”

I loved that Ester reacted toward the patient’s needs and did a selfless act. I love that humanity still exists.

Rosaura Roman
Business Associate
Maternal Child Care Center
The Mount Sinai Hospital

This is a hard time for all of us during this COVID-19 crisis especially in NYC.

A close family friend shared this picture with me early Easter morning and it brought a smile to my face, because I know NYC will rise again after this storm. We are resilient and blessed by a loving God and amazing health system. I would like to give credits to  photographer, Zoe Szafran, for sharing this beautiful picture with me. It brightened up my Easter Sunday, and I hope it has an impact on the many people this is shared with. There is a bright light at the end of this road.

Elsy Rivera, RN
Case Management
The Mount Sinai Hospital

I would like acknowledge an incredible discharge coordinator, Debra Bedell. She is in a grant position, which ended on March 27, but she felt that she couldn’t let the residents or patients down. So she has continued in the position as a volunteer. She works tirelessly to ensure that all our patients have post-discharge appointments, and we couldn’t function without her.

Stephanie Rutledge, MD
The Mount Sinai Hospital

I would like to thank and acknowledge the entire Movement Disorder team at 10 Union Square East. Many have been working from home trying to make sure that all patients are still being taken care of by converting appointments to video and doing an amazing job. We also have those who come to the office and pitch in to help where they can. We continue to be a team, whether on site or off, and that makes me feel proud to be a part of such a great team under amazing management. I am thankful to have such awesome coworkers.

Scharlyn Pagan
Administrative Assistant
Neurology
10 Union Square East