Left to right: Jeanette Du, MD, Shravan Savant, MD, and Jorge Andrade Romo, MD
Augie and JoAnne Corvino sent the following letter thanking four doctors, all specialists in ophthalmology.
On November 3, 2020, our daughter, Chloe, contracted a rare eye infection—Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. As we reflect on this past year, we want to recognize and express our utmost gratitude to the doctors who guided us and cared for her as if she was their own child. We like to think of Dr. Gaurav Chandra, Dr. Jeanette Du, Dr. Jorge Andrade Romo, and Dr. Shravan Savant as Chloe’s guardian angels. Chloe’s infection intensified rather quickly, and we didn’t know how to help her. Dr. Chandra saw Chloe after three days and instructed us to take her to the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai for further evaluation.
Dr. Du was kind, patient, and thorough while examining our frightened 11-year-old. Dr. Romo and Dr. Savant were both extremely determined to help her. They made Chloe feel comfortable, they were informative, and were committed to her well-being. We had no doubt that we brought Chloe to the best facility. Each one of these doctors had an immense impact on Chloe’s health today. She is not out of the woods just yet. She currently wears a hard contact lens, and her vision has improved to 25/20.
She still may need a cornea transplant, but the doctors are still following her closely. We truly believe that without Chloe’s guardian angels that she would have lost her vision. Chloe has returned to playing lacrosse, field hockey, and even swimming (with goggles of course). She would not be where she is today without all of the doctors who cared for her. We can’t thank them enough.
John Cruz, Senior Manager, Parking Services at The Mount Sinai Hospital, had stopped by the cashier’s booth at the parking garage behind the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai when the attendant received a call that someone was unconscious on the roof. John told the attendant to call Security, and immediately ran up to the roof, where he saw smoke and fire and realized it was coming from a car.
Thankfully, two men were nearby and told John that an unconscious man was in the car, which was locked and filled with smoke. Working together, they broke the car windows and were able to drag the man along a concrete ramp to safety, just before the vehicle was engulfed in flames. John felt for the man’s pulse, and was relieved that there was one. At that point, EMS arrived and began triage.
In November, John was commended by senior leadership at Mount Sinai for his quick thinking and bravery.
“John put himself at risk in order to help a stranger,” said Dennis Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs for the Mount Sinai Health System. “He was afraid, as anyone would have been, but he conquered that fear to perform a heroic feat. We are so fortunate to have him as a member of the Mount Sinai family.”
But John is modest and wants to make sure Andre Rodrigues Silva, an employee of a Mount Sinai vendor, Efficiency Experts, is acknowledged for his efforts (John believes the other man who helped out was a patient, who was headed to or leaving the hospital.)
“I was very scared when I arrived,” John says, “but my instincts kicked in, and I was able to pull the patient out. My heartfelt thanks go to the two gentlemen that were there helping me.”
Mount Sinai patients have singled out Kaitlin Kerr, MS, CGC, for praise on her performance, professionalism, and kindness, according to Raquel Grobe, Administrative Manager, Division of Medical Genetics. The patient comments were made in the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) Clinician and Group Survey, which asks patients to report on their experiences with providers and staff in primary care and specialty care settings.
“Kaitlin, a genetics counselor, is simply extraordinary in her delivery of patient services,” Ms. Grobe says. “Her compassion, which is consistently front and center with her patients, is never ending. She has this incredible ability to make patients feel heard and listened to, while providing critical life-impacting information.”
Here are some to the comments from the patient experience survey:
“Kaitlin was incredibly thorough and helpful. It was one of the best clinical visits I ever had. She gave me so much information and ensured I understood what she was discussing.
“I’ve had a very frustrating experience at my practice (not Mount Sinai) and Kaitlin Kerr made the whole situation 1,000 times better. She really took the time to make sure my husband and I fully understood everything she was explaining and was just wonderful.”
“Kaitlin was so wonderful and made sure all of our questions were answered.”
“Thanks for all the hospitality; I really need that…and understanding in a time where I really needed it.”
“Kaitlin was incredibly thorough and helpful. It was one of the best clinical visits I ever had. She gave me so much information and ensured I understood what she was discussing.”
Ms. Grobe says the division is proud of Ms. Kerr for her contributions to the Health System and its patients.
COVID-19 took the life of Ashley Buterman’s father-in-law early in the pandemic. In March 2020, he was admitted to The Mount Sinai Hospital (MSH) with symptoms of the infection. As Ashley explains, it was an emotionally challenging time. “Families were not allowed to visit, of course, and it was even hard to get updates,” Ashley says. “Once my father-in-law was placed on a ventilator, the brief calls we did have with him were over.”
Through a friend on the nursing staff at MSH, Ashley was connected to Jamie Ruhmshottel, BSN, RN-BC, a nurse manager at MSH, who was deployed to a COVID-19 unit and offered to take audio messages that were recorded by Ashley’s husband and his sisters and play them for their father. “Jamie let us know she did this, and even though my father-in-law could not talk, Jamie told us his eyes and breathing registered that he understood.” Sadly, he passed away ten days after being admitted.
“My family and I were so grateful for Jamie’s help,” Ashley says. “We did not get to meet, but we sent her and her team lunch, and we kept in touch occasionally for a while after that.” Little did she know that Jamie was to come into Ashley’s life again due to COVID-19, this time on a brighter note.
In late October 2021, vaccinations for children between the aged of 5 and 11 were authorized, and Ashley was determined to have her two children, in that age bracket, vaccinated. She tried a few walk-ins without success, and was getting frustrated. So she got in touch with a friend who connected her with a nurse who was volunteering in the pediatric vaccine pods at MSH. As Ashley was texting this nurse, she realized it was Jamie, the same nurse who had been so caring of her father-in-law over a year ago. Jamie was able to make an appointment for her children, and the two women met face-to-face in the pod.
“I was so excited to thank Jamie in person for two good deeds: caring for my father-in-law and then getting my children on their way to being protected from COVID. I am just so thrilled and reassured.”
Jamie, who has been at The Mount Sinai Hospital since 2008 and now works in an outpatient setting at the Mount Sinai National Jewish Health Respiratory Institute, is no stranger to accolades, having won the MSH Overall Department Award for Excellence in Nursing in 2015.
“The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic was such a scary time,” she says. “We were just beginning to take care of these very sick patients and learning how to do so safely, while at the same time acting as family for them, many during their last days. I did not have to think too hard about my care. If a family member of mine was in a similar situation, I would hope hospital staff would be compassionate and treat them in the same way.”
For the past six years, the Cullman Family Award for Excellence in Physician Communication has honored Mount Sinai Health System physicians and advanced practice providers who demonstrate exceptional communication in clinical practice. This year 74 outstanding Mount Sinai providers were honored, more than ever before.
Recipients of this year’s award were ranked in the top one percent nationally in provider communication for 2020 as measured by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CG CAHPS) patient experience survey.
Patients’ Tributes to Cullman Award honorees
“She listened to all my needs and was kind enough to understand all my anxieties.”
“He reassured me it would be all right, and he was so kind and compassionate. I was tormented in pain, and he gave me back my life.”
“I felt very cared for. Communication and bedside manner are things you hear about, but until you experience the real thing, I had no idea the affect it would have on my health and on my life.”
The awardees, listed below, were honored at a virtual ceremony on Monday, November 8. Thirty-one of the honorees—42 percent—are prior recipients, and six of them have won the awards in three or more years.
This year’s ceremony was hosted by Erica Rubinstein, MS, LCSW, CPXP, Vice President of Service Excellence and Patient Experience, and Stephen Fecteau, Senior Manager, Talent Development and Learning. The event included a special and moving video featuring patients speaking about why they nominated some of the honorees and tributes from Susan and Edgar Cullman, Jr., whose father, Edgar Cullman Sr., conceived of a program dedicated to patient experience at Mount Sinai 20 years ago.
“We are particularly proud of these providers whose goal is to put patients at the center of everything they do,” Ms. Rubinstein said of the honorees. “Their commitment to the Mount Sinai values—safety, empathy, creativity, teamwork, equality and agility—is on display every day.”
The Cullman Family Award for excellence in Patient Communication honors Mount Sinai Health System physicians and advanced practice providers who demonstrate exceptional communication in clinical practice. Clinicians who are recognized for this achievement rank in the top 1 percent nationally in provider communication as measured by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CG-CAHPS patient experience survey.
One of this year’s 74 honorees at Mount Sinai is Anna Kunkel, PA. Anna began working at The Mount Sinai Hospital in the outpatient Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science; she now works with high-risk moms to be. The following are several patient comments about the care provided by Anna.
Anna is caring, compassionate and knowledgeable.”
“Anna was absolutely amazing, She explained everything to me with care and compassion.”
“Anna spoke to me as a person and not just as another patient.”
“Anna was gentle and made me feel at ease.”
“She is sweet and nonjudgmental.”
Anna puts herself in her patients’ shoes. “The hospital is a scary place for patients. The way we communicate with them to alleviate fear is so important” she says. “My goal is to help patients understand all aspects of their care so they can feel safe and confident.”
The Cullman Family Award for excellence in Patient Communication honors Mount Sinai Health System physicians and advanced practice providers who demonstrate exceptional communication in clinical practice. Clinicians who are recognized for this achievement rank in the top 1 percent nationally in provider communication as measured by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CG-CAHPS patient experience survey.