Trashana Smith

Trashana Smith, a Medical Office Assistant at Mount Sinai West, was recently recognized with a STAR submission by Kimberly Fields, Administrative Manager, Department of Operations at the Mount Sinai Doctors Faculty Practice.

Trashana sometimes works as a screener in the lobby of the building at 5 East 98th Street. On one of those days, she noted that the wife of a patient was distraught. The woman had left her husband—who has Alzheimer’s—in the lobby while she brought her car to pick him up, and when she returned he was no longer there. Though her shift had ended, Trashana listened while the wife described her husband to security and gave them his picture. Determined to help, Trashana took a picture of the picture and set out to look for the patient.  She walked around the corner to Madison Avenue, where she saw a man who looked like the patient, and when he acknowledged his name, Trashana walked him back to the building.

Kimberly praises Trashana for demonstrating empathy and compassion. “When I first learned of Trashana’s help in locating the patient,” she says, “my heart was so full.” She adds, ”Trashana is the personification of Mount Sinai’s core values. Her compassion and unwavering dedication to assisting the wife in locating her husband is admirable. She told me personally that she wouldn’t be able to travel home without knowing that he was found and safe. I’m so proud to have her as part of my team, and her call to action is inspirational to us all.”

Trashana, who has a background in hospice care, is humble about the instinctive and selfless action she took. “I just always think about how I would want my family to be treated when I am working with patients, and how each patient is a person deserving of the most compassionate care.”

The Cellular Therapy Laboratory team was saluted for its dedication. Standing, from left: quality assurance manager Sharon Tindle; medical technologists Yesmin Choudhury, Simon Ng, and Elvira Maliarova; and lab manager Yelena Sinitsyn. Seated: medical technologist Yijun Ou, left, and lead technologist Svitlana Shpontak. Not shown, administrative assistant Johanny Polonia.

Camelia Iancu-Rubin, PhD, Professor, Molecular and Cell-Based Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, sings the praises of the “extraordinary” laboratory team in the Department of Pathology, Molecular and Cell-Based Medicine at The Mount Sinai Hospital.

“The Cellular Therapy Laboratory might be little known,” she says, “but the team’s dedication goes above and beyond to ensure safe and efficient delivery of cellular therapies to our patients.” Dr. Iancu-Rubin explains that cellular therapy is a treatment in which healthy live cells are infused into patients to replace or eliminate diseased cells, but many procedures are required before such cells become “living drugs”.

“This amazing team works tirelessly every day to make sure the cells are processed and stored on time, even when collections occur outside the routine working hours,” she says. “Under the expert leadership of their manager, our medical technologists prepare cells for infusion at times best suited for the patients, many times volunteering after hours and on weekends.”

Dr. Iancu-Rubin is grateful for the team’s “conscientiousness, flexibility, and commitment to patient safety.”

Rany “Ronnie” Williams

Rany “Ronnie” Williams, an Environmental Services staff member at Mount Sinai Brooklyn, was recently recognized for his outstanding efforts as part of the 2 East team. This unit treats patients with highly complex and resistant infectious diseases, and Ronnie is committed to meeting the unique cleaning requirements of the space.

Ronnie shows the same exceptional care for his colleagues and patients. One of the patients on the unit had end-stage respiratory disease, but when not on an assistive breathing device would try to sing old Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett songs. When Ronnie was in the room, he would join in singing with her and sway with his mop while she would dance in her chair. Ronnie’s colleagues wanted to honor him for his compassion and going above and beyond his everyday work to show care for a patient at end of life.

Ronnie is clearly dedicated to enhancing the patient experience. “When I was hired as a housekeeper, my goal was to be able to be the best housekeeper and hopefully help patients recover,” he says. “Some of the ways I do so is by talking to patients, sharing a magic trick, or simply cleaning their room to the best of my ability.”

AnnMarie DiFrancesca, Director of Child Life at Mount Sinai South Nassau

AnnMarie DiFrancesca, Director of Child Life at Mount Sinai South Nassau, is called an unsung hero by Lynn Bert, Pediatrics Nurse Manager.

“AnnMarie is instrumental at turning fear and frustration in children to laughter and play. She makes children happy and puts parents at ease. Her energy is limitless, and her resourcefulness is tremendous. She keeps the patients on the Pediatric Unit stocked with toys and diversional activities. She has tools to prepare them for their procedures and surgical cases. She stays with children through IV starts, MRIs, and any test or procedure that might be frightening to them.”

But there is more, Lynn says. “AnnMarie helped lead a pain-reduction program using anesthetic cream prior to blood work, IV insertion, and lumbar punctures for all children on the Pediatric Unit. This program has now expanded to include the pediatric patients in the Emergency Department and Family Practice Clinic. She created a program for autistic children and is now expanding the program to ease the hospital stays of adults with autism or other special needs, and has attended Grand Rounds to educate staff about this patient population.”

Ann Marie exemplifies the Mount Sinai value of creativity. She brought tablets into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) so siblings could virtually meet their new brothers and sisters. She organized graduation ceremonies for NICU babies for when they are finally big enough and well enough to go home, complete with diplomas and tiny graduation caps. And last year she designed a NICU reunion for children of 18 months.

AnnMarie’s contributions are not limited to pediatric units. When a young man was in a motor vehicle accident, she spoke with his children to prepare them for what to expect when they visited him in Critical Care. When a cancer patient passed away, she spent time with the family discussing how to explain things to their children.

AnnMarie is passionate about her work. “I love my job. I feel my role as a Certified Child Life Specialist is to meet each patient and family where they are and support their social, emotional, and developmental needs; to be their advocate for when they are most vulnerable and scared. I am also so happy and proud to be a valued resource for so many of the staff who want guidance when facing a challenging situation involving our pediatric patients. I am so appreciative to be part of a team that is welcoming of me, and the child life services I am able to provide.”