Ariel Elyahu, MD

Recently, Ariel Elyahu, MD, a hospitalist at The Mount Sinai Hospital, became aware that a patient who was scheduled to be discharged had been separated from his denim jacket. For the patient, a 94-year-old veteran of the Korean War, this wasn’t any ordinary jacket: on it were the Purple Heart medal given to him personally by the President of the United States and Jump Wings for his service as a parachutist. The patient was crushed that the jacket was mislaid as he moved among rooms and exam spaces. He told Dr. Elyahu that he had worn it every day for the past 50 years.

The lost jacket was reported to Security, but Dr. Elyahu did not want to accept that the jacket was missing and retraced the patient’s travel through the hospital, floor by floor, room by room, even asking a patient if he could look through a dresser in case the jacket had been stored there. Dr. Elyahu’s  perseverance was rewarded, and his patient was able to proudly wear his jacket home, medal and all, to continue his recovery.

Dr. Elyahu, who did his residency at Mount Sinai and has been an attending physician for three years, says Hospital Medicine is exactly what he wanted as a medical career. “Helping people, and seeing their improvement after being cared for in our hospital, is so meaningful to me,” he says. “And Mount Sinai is a wonderful place to practice, as I get to address extremely complex and interesting cases.”

Willie Vega, Senior Buyer

Willie Vega, Senior Buyer, The Mount Sinai Hospital, has been a Mount Sinai employee for 42 years, and he epitomizes the meaning of customer service, according to Stefani Rodriguez, Director, Finance, at the hospital. “No task is too big for Willie to handle and own,” she says. “He focuses on the present and provides the end-user community with exceptional service and answers to all of their questions. His commitment never wavers, and we are so thankful for his efforts.”

According to Stefani, Willie earns at least one STAR employee recognition each month—at times multiple ones. Here are a few of the comments praising Willie’s dedication to his work and to Mount Sinai:

“Thanks to William’s due diligence, my staff and department will receive a shipment that was going to an incorrect Mount Sinai location on time. Great work, William. Thank you for being a team player,“ says Leroy Francis, Administrative Director, Cardiology, Mount Sinai Queens.

“Thank you, William, for your assistance with helping out the Patient/Equipment Transport Department. I truly appreciate all your assistance and your dedication,” says Kristy McDonough, Assistant Director Patient/Equipment Transportation, Mount Sinai Queens.

“William deserves recognition for his hard work and ability to assist whenever needed. He is very knowledgeable and professional in his communication. Very effective and a great resource. Thank you, William, for all you do, day in and day out,” says Deborah Mosko, Clinical Program Manager, Employee Health Service, Mount Sinai Health System.

Over his four-decade tenure, Willie has worked in the Emergency Department, Ambulatory Clinic, Patient Accounts, and Surgical Admitting. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Willie explains, “I served our country, and then I decided I wanted to serve patients and my colleagues. Meeting their needs and exceeding expectations is what keeps me going.”

Brandon Kuck, patient service representative

Brandon Kuck, patient service representative, has been working with the Network Access Center only since August 2022, but has already made a “tremendous impact” on patients, according to Amy Nantista, Associate Director of Patient Access. “His compassion, empathy, and continued drive to serve our patients is extraordinary,” she says. “In this past month alone, Brandon received four patient shout-outs, and they reflect the wonderful patient experience Brandon gives our patients on each and every call.”  Here are some of the patients’ comments:

“I am just getting off the phone with Brandon Kuck, and I wanted to compliment his thoroughness, caring, and professionalism in my conversation with him today. I have spoken with him numerous times, and he is always on point, pleasant, and a pleasure to work with. He is an asset to Mount Sinai.”

“Brandon was very kind and empathetic, even as I was in terrible pain and crying during the call. I have run call centers before, and I know a good employee when I hear one, and Brandon is a star.”

Amy provides more insight into Brandon’s caring and compassionate nature. “When we were gearing up to create a specialty group to assist some of our cancer patients, Brandon was the first one to sign up,” she says. “When we explained that this opportunity was going to be extremely rewarding but could also be very disheartening, Brandon said he felt working in our department had allowed to him to help our patients and spread some kindness in the world, his foremost goal in health care. He believed assisting cancer patients would help him achieve his goal even more so. This type of mentality makes working with Brandon so rewarding; he is one of our rays of sunshine in the Access Center.”

Maria Enea, dietary clerk

When Emergency Department staff and leadership at Mount Sinai Queens were developing a plan to streamline food delivery to admitted patients, they needed a partner in the Food and Nutrition Department who could implement the plan with flexibility, creativity, and understanding. And they decided there was no one better suited to help them than Maria Enea, dietary clerk.

Maria is known to be patient, communicative, an excellent listener, and willing to make last-minute changes—all to help feed patients who depend on excellent and timely care. According to leadership, without her skill and expertise, the program would not have been as successful and fruitful as it has become. Maria is not only considered a partner, but also a friend of the Emergency Department, and they could not be more grateful.

“I always try to do the best I can to help by accommodating requests to provide patients with the best experience possible,“ Maria says. “I think of patients as if they are my own family members and treat them with the respect they deserve. It is important to me to always go above and beyond to address their wishes, if at all possible, to make them feel more comfortable during their stay.”

Zarina Chmelev, billing supervisor

Zarina Chmelev is a billing supervisor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at The Mount Sinai Hospital. She oversees the approval process for radiation treatment, and her team handles about 75 cases weekly for 13 physicians at the site.  Although Zarina does not play a role in clinical care, she has a deep commitment to Mount Sinai’s mission. She is always willing to help patients and colleagues, says Lorena D. Pesantez-Mihov, Associate Director of Radiation Oncology.

“This team recently had a challenging approval case,“ Lorena says. “Zarina not only contacted the third-party contractor used for approvals directly, and handled a first and second appeal process, she then appealed with the patient’s plan and finally the state. Due to Zarina’s perseverance and understanding of the importance of her role, this case was overturned and approved, resulting in the patient’s being treated on time. We thank Zarina for advocating for our patients to ensure they receive timely treatment.”

Zarina is committed to her patients. “My role as a billing supervisor is to make sure that we have approvals done in a timely fashion, while also making sure that authorizations are done correctly and our patients will be covered for services. We are helping very sick patients who are fighting for their lives, and we want to make sure that they don’t have to worry about the financial part of their treatment, so that they can concentrate on getting better and get the services that they need. When we finally get the approvals, it gives us great joy knowing that we are helping cancer patients and contributing to the mission of Mount Sinai.”