Stories of Excellence | Mount Sinai Today

A Respected Transporter’s Approach: ‘Always Practice Compassion’

Updated on Jul 22, 2022 | Stories of Excellence

Kiya Neal

Kiya Neal is a transporter at Mount Sinai West. According to his supervisor, Arleen Charles, Kiya demonstrates many of the Mount Sinai Health System values, including teamwork, agility, and empathy. “Kiya has enormous respect for patients, colleagues, and leadership,” she says. “While I am rounding on units, I always get positive feedback about him. She adds, “Kiya has a unique ability to always have open communication, no matter the atmosphere, and is willing to go above and beyond with clinical staff to avoid gaps in communication when transporting his patients. Importantly, Kiya is committed to providing safe, quality care to every patient he serves.”

A member of the clinical staff recently recognized Kiya, saying, “Kiya is such a wonderful transporter, he is pleasant and delightful. He saw that we were struggling with moving a hospital bed, and he quickly assisted us. He will volunteer to help anyone in the ED. I love working with him, and so do the ED staff.”

Kiya has a thoughtful way to express his approach to patient experience. “Working in health care is not about how much you do, but how much you put into the doing,” he says. “That is why I always practice compassion when interacting with patients and colleagues.”

‘Creative and Agile’ Materials Manager Dedicated to Team’s Collective Success

Updated on Jul 22, 2022 | Stories of Excellence

Angel Rivera

Angel Rivera is a Materials Manager at Mount Sinai Beth Israel who heads a team responsible for keeping all units stocked with supplies on a daily basis. In this important behind-the-scenes role, Angel has been praised by his colleagues for his teamwork, creativity, and agility.

Patrice Alexandre, RN, Nurse Manager, 7 Silver says, “While completing rounds to deliver materials and assure that our stockroom was equipped with the necessary supplies needed for the unit, Mr. Rivera noticed that the supply room on 7 Silver was a bit disheveled and need some organization. He took the time out of his busy day to discard any boxes or items that were the source of clutter or inappropriately stored, cleaned the floors behind the storage shelves, and removed any excess supplies that were impacting the cleanliness and appearance of the unit. After he left, the room was so clean and well organized! We all truly appreciated his hard work and dedication to the upkeep of our supply room. Thank you Mr. Rivera!”

Richard Spatafora, MSN, RN, Nurse Education Manager, has also thanked Angel for going above and beyond: “Angel always finds a way to help, and today was no exception. Angel quickly responded to our need for some materials we needed for our critical care course. He located exactly what was needed, and despite being exceptionally busy, found the time to run the needed supplies to Nursing Education. This kind of behavior is not unusual for Angel. He is always kind and helpful, and contributes greatly to all of our collective success. Nursing Education loves you, Angel! Thanks for always being so helpful. ”

Angel is clearly dedicated to his work. “Assuring that our patients have the daily supplies for them to be taken care of is really important to me, he explains. “It is so satisfying to know that I am helping patients to be comfortable and safe and that their stay at MSBI turns out to be a great experience. It’s always a pleasure working with the nurse managers of each unit and assisting them with their needs. I have made it clear that I am only an email or call away.”

Language Coordinator’s Dedicated Care Makes Patients Feel Safer and Translates Into Better Health Outcomes

Updated on Nov 14, 2025 | Engagement, Stories of Excellence

Sylvia Dabalsa, Language Coordinator.

Sylvia Dabalsa began her career at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) in 2014 as a Spanish medical Interpreter, and a few months later took on additional administrative duties, which eventually led to her current position as language coordinator. In this role, she says, “it is a privilege to serve our diverse patient population.”

Sylvia makes sure that patients with limited English proficiency or who are deaf or hard of hearing have easy access to interpretation services via telephone, video, and face-to-face interpreters. In addition, she plays a key role in implementing and expanding policies and procedures that meet the language requirements of the New York State Department of Health and Joint Commission. These include annual language needs assessments; increasing the number and utilization of video remote interpreters; expanding the number of staff who are assessed and added to the language bank; and overseeing regular in-service sessions to ensure that staff are familiar with the resources available to communicate effectively with all patients. She also oversees the translation of key documents and consents that are used throughout NYEE.

Miguel Arenas, MS, CPXP, Senior Director Patient Relations, Mount Sinai Downtown and Mount Sinai Brooklyn, says that Sylvia is tireless in her efforts and advocacy for all patients, but especially those with limited English proficiency and those who are deaf or hard of hearing. These patients feel safer, comforted, and reassured when Sylvia is in the house. “Her dedication to this work comes from her clear understanding that a simple error when interpreting can put patients’ lives in danger or limit their ability to understand their diagnosis or plan of care,” he says. “Sylvia has a keen ability to work with a wide range of providers and managers across all departments. She is agile, caring, smart, resourceful, and embraces any challenge that comes her way.”

Sylvia is committed to providing patients with the best possible experience through high quality, compassionate, and unbiased care. “I love my work,” she says, “as it allows me to facilitate communications between limited English proficient or sensory disabled patients, their family and friends, and our staff. Improved communication translates into better diagnoses, better patient understanding of the plan of care, and better health outcomes.”

Social Worker Goes Above and Beyond to Get Patient Her Medication

Updated on Jul 14, 2022 | Stories of Excellence

Jino Gatpandan, LMSW.

Jino Gatpandan, LMSW, is a float social worker at Mount Sinai Beth Israel (MSBI), meaning that he covers all inpatient areas of the hospital. Jino has been working at MSBI for about a year and has already shown that he is calm, empathetic, and compassionate, his supervisor say. Jino often has to help with discharges at the last minute or when there is a crisis, and he does so efficiently and creatively.

Recently, Jino was recognized with a STAR by Alicia Tennenbaum, LCSW, Director of Social Work and Case Management. Alicia recounted an incident that exemplifies Jino’s commitment to his patient’s welfare. One of the medical teams was trying to discharge a patient who was at high risk for readmission because she had trouble filling her medications. (She had already been readmitted to MSBI and other hospitals.)

Jino met with her medical team and pharmacy to determine how to rectify this situation. For the better part of a day, they hit roadblocks with the patient’s insurance company. Finally, in the evening, they were able to get her medications filled at the pharmacy. Jino decided that he would not feel good about this discharge until he ensured that the medications were in the patient’s hands. He went to Walgreens himself and stayed there until the medications were ready and he could bring them directly to the patient’s bedside. Alicia says, “It truly was selfless and an example of going above and beyond. Jino made the patient’s discharge smoother and safer by embodying the Mount Sinai values of creativity, empathy, agility, and teamwork.”

Jino is modest when talking about his contributions to the patient experience. “Helping people is what I try to do every day. So if there’s a way that I can assist a patient in making their transition back into the community seamless that goes beyond what’s normally expected, but within reason, then I’ll do it.”

Nursing Excellence: Two Nurses Lead an Impromptu Team to Help Save a Patient’s Life

Updated on Jul 8, 2022 | Nursing, Stories of Excellence

Lorraine Fender, DNP, RN, left, Nurse Manager, and Anne Maguire, NP

Lorraine Fender, DNP, RN, Nurse Manager, and Anne Maguire, NP, of the Mount Sinai West Institute for Advanced Medicine, known as the Samuels Clinic, were recently recognized at the daily huddle of Mount Sinai Health System leaders. The reason: Ms. Maguire and Ms. Fender acted swiftly and decisively in leading a spur-of-the-moment team that helped save a patient’s life.

While in office hours, Ms. Maguire noticed a patient sitting in a chair with his head against the wall. When approached, the patient was pale and unresponsive, and Ms. Maguire immediately called for help. Ms. Fender responded to the call, and together with Jeffrey Fishberger, MD, the three lifted the patient from his chair and placed him on the floor. Ms. Maguire realized that the patient did not have a pulse and was not breathing.

After instructing Ms. Fender to begin CPR, Ms. Maguire called out for someone to call the Code Team, which specializes in emergency response, and practice manager Rachel Gonzalez did so immediately. Meanwhile, Mariko Yamasaki, RN, BSN, helped set up the automatic external defibrillator, and Michael Olivier-De La Torre, DNP, assisted with manual resuscitation while Ms. Fender performed compressions.

The team continued CPR until the Code Team arrived and took over. The patient was intubated, medicated, and defibrillated several times, but remained unresponsive. Ms. Fender and Ms. Maguire stayed with him as Ms. Fender continued compressions, and the decision was made to transport the patient to the ED to continue CPR.

The staff in the Samuels Practice later found out that the patient survived and was transferred to Mount Sinai Morningside. Upon discharge from the hospital, the patient returned to Samuels for an appointment with his primary care physician. He expressed his appreciation and thanked the staff for saving his life.

When Ms. Fender and Ms. Maguire were told they would be celebrated, they wanted to make sure that others were also recognized, including Dr. Fishberger, Mariko Yamasaki, Michael Olivier-De La Torre, Rachel Gonzalez, and the Mount Sinai West Code Team. By working collaboratively, they were able to save a patient’s life. They went on to say that a situation like this is one of the many reasons they come to work every day and try to make a difference in the lives of their patients. They thanked the Samuels Clinic faculty and staff for a job well done and the team’s remarkable collaboration.

Nursing Excellence: Called to Emergency Care on a Flight to London

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Nursing, Stories of Excellence

Monica Pierre, RN

Monica Pierre, RN, Clinical Nurse Manager, Mount Sinai Selikoff Centers for Occupational Health on Staten Island, loves to travel and has visited countries worldwide. Her international flights have been generally smooth, but on a recent trip to London for the wedding of her niece, her flight was anything but typical.

Monica was seated with a cousin and a new acquaintance who is her cousin’s friend, when after dinner she dozed off. She was awakened by an announcement from the cockpit, asking if there were any medical personnel on board. Monica alerted the flight attendant that she was a nurse and was escorted to the back of the plane. Her companions were no longer sitting next to her, and she assumed they had gone to the rest rooms. However, Monica was shocked to see her cousin’s friend lying on the floor, unresponsive to verbal commands. She quickly took control of the situation, along with a fellow passenger who was a medic.

Monitoring the medical status of her companion and keeping her semi-conscious was a challenge. The flight’s blood pressure cuff was not appropriate for her needs, and the pulse oximeter was missing batteries (thankfully, a passenger had two double A batteries to spare). Monica asked for oxygen, and luckily, that was readily available. Monica continued to monitor her companion’s vitals over the next three hours, making sure the woman did not aspirate her own vomit and changing her clothes to keep her dry and warm. Monica advised the flight crew, when asked, that diverting the flight was unnecessary, since they were halfway through the flight and all of the woman’s vital signs were normal. But her companion was mostly unresponsive and unable to be moved, so Monica did not leave her side.

As they approached Heathrow Airport, the attendants, Monica, and the medic struggled to put the woman in a seat, as that was required for landing. Monica stayed close by and gave a report to the medical team when they boarded. The woman was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where she was able to be discharged after a day of observation and tests indicated she had an adverse reaction to beverages she had onboard the plane.

Although she never expected to be involved in a medical crisis aboard a flight on her way to celebrate such a happy occasion, Monica says she is aware of the importance of her medical skills and her mission as a nurse. “My first instinct, when I heard the request for medical assistance, was to offer my help. As nurses, we are always on duty. We serve the public. We take care of people. This is what we do.”