Gretchen Kretkowski, RN, is a nurse at Mount Sinai South Nassau and the chair of the hospital’s bereavement council. Gretchen actively reaches out to mothers and families who have experienced a loss during or shortly after childbirth.
She ensures families are seen by bereavement team members while in the hospital and follows up with patients who have experienced a loss by phoning them after they are discharged to assess how they are coping with their loss. If she believes they are in need of help, Gretchen will secure referrals for more assistance.
Elena Lobatch DNP, RNC-OB, NE-BC, Senior Director of Nursing, Patient Care Services at Mount Sinai South Nassau, says Gretchen is also an invaluable resource to the staff.
“She designed an education session on bereavement and teaches new Labor and Delivery nurses about bereavement support to patients and families. She shares her expertise with new perinatal bereavement committee members. Gretchen helps nurses navigate best practices for therapeutic communication. She takes phone calls on her days off or in the middle of the night if a fellow nurse needs guidance on the bereavement process. Gretchen is invaluable in supporting the staff members after a stressful or traumatic event on the job. Recently she also helped a family member of a fellow nurse, who suffered a full-term perinatal death. Gretchen’s empathy, compassion, and willingness to help those during a devastating time is extraordinary. She is our treasure.”
Gretchen clearly considers her role as a nurse specializing in bereavement as a calling. “To have the honor to be at someone’s side when they are going through maybe one of their darkest moments, to connect in the deepest human level is sacred ground. I am so intensely grateful I have the opportunity to let someone know that for at least that moment they are not alone.”
And she has deep appreciation for her team. “My colleagues have been instrumental in my growth and development as a nurse and as a person. Understanding our relationship with one another allows us to be more authentically connected to our patients, and ask, “What would I need in this moment?” Or, “What would help to make me feel less alone, afraid, or heard?” I counsel my new nurses not to be afraid to connect on a human level. They should be real, be honest.”
Ivonne Pereira, NP, is an advanced practice nurse in the Oncology-Hematology and Infusion Center at Mount Sinai West. Toby Bressler, PhD, RN, Senior Director of Nursing for Oncology and Clinical Quality at Mount Sinai West, calls Ivonne “a nurse’s nurse.”
Dr. Bressler explains, “Ivonne is a dedicated and insightful provider who treats each patient like family and delivers exemplary clinical care to each individual with attention to detail. Ivonne interfaces with many departments, ensuring that all infusion orders are accurate and appropriate lab work and surveillance is completed prior to treatment. Her coordination of care is the best, bar none, and she has a laser focus on quality to ensure patient safety. Ivonne represents all the Mount Sinai Health System’s values, within our institution and beyond. “
Ivonne has also made a difference in advance care planning. “Since Ivonne has joined our team, our advance care plan completion rates have doubled,” Dr. Bressler says. “This is largely due to Ivonne’s reviewing each patient’s medical record and speaking with every patient to assist them in completing this important document.”
Ivonne is grateful to be an integral part of a patient’s care team. “It is so rewarding when I connect with my patients and earn their trust,“ she says. “Each of their stories is unique and special to me. Every day is a memorable experience, and I am very fortunate to be a part of all of these lives.”
Certified Nurses Day™ is an annual day of recognition for and by health care leaders dedicated to nursing professionalism, excellence, recognition, and service. On this day, employers, certification boards, education facilities, and health care providers celebrate and publicly acknowledge nurses who earn and maintain the highest credentials in their specialty.
The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens celebrated Certified Nurses Day on March 22 and 23, with a Town Hall, photo sessions for certified nurses, and resource tables at both hospitals so nurses who wish to be certified could learn more about requirements.
The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens achieved a combined certification of 44 percent, which met the desired goal for 2021. Deborah Feehan, MSN, RN-BC, Director of Nursing at The Mount Sinai Hospital, was very proud of this achievement, as was Frances Cartwright, PhD, RN-BC, AOCN, FAAN, Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Vice President at The Mount Sinai Hospital.
“Mount Sinai Nursing applauds our certified nurses, who have made the commitment to achieve board certification in their specialty,” Dr. Cartwright said. “Becoming a certified nurse demonstrates professionalism and dedication to providing best practices to diverse complex patient populations. It is a testimony to our Mount Sinai nurses who live the tenets of our relationship-centered care model, advancing quality care and caring for our patients, families, care teams, and the communities we serve.”
Since April 2021, Polina Lerner, PharmD, has assisted with reviewing more than 400 inpatient COVID-19 vaccine consults at The Mount Sinai Hospital. To ensure timely patient discharges, she often arrives early to her shift to review new consults received overnight and checks on the status of patients with complex conditions who are pending vaccination.
After reviewing patients for vaccine appropriateness, Polina then coordinates the dose preparation by the pharmacy and the actual vaccination by the COVID-19 POD nurses. Her coordination efforts include helping to determine the order in which the patients should be vaccinated—taking into consideration discharge time, family visiting time, and the patient’s or care team’s specific requests.
Her attention to detail has guided patients to receive appropriately timed vaccines, ensured feedback to providers, and helped prevent any errors. She accomplishes all of this in addition to her other antimicrobial stewardship responsibilities at both The Mount Sinai Hospital (MSH) and Mount Sinai Queens (MSQ).
Victoria Adams, Pharm D, Infectious Diseases Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator, has praise for Polina’s efforts.
“Polina goes above and beyond to ensure the patient’s vaccine administration is coordinated to be safe, timely, and in accordance with the requests of the patient or patient’s family. It is a labor-intensive process; Polina clearly sees this mission as noble and gratifying. Her attention to detail shows empathy toward our patients and the understanding of meeting the patient’s requests to permit vaccination.”
Gina Caliendo, Senior Director of Pharmacy at MSH, agrees. “Polina takes her responsibility for ensuring patient, provider, and family education around vaccination to heart. She goes out of her way to help vaccinate as many inpatients at both MSH and MSQ as possible. Her calm demeanor is very comforting to everyone with whom she interacts.”
Polina says that helping safely treat an infection is her ideal goal.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest challenge I have faced in my professional career. It has also challenged me mentally and emotionally. When the COVID-19 vaccine became available, I wanted to offer it to every person in the world so that we could one day take off our masks and finally see each other smile again. When I know I helped a patient and now they are smiling, it’s inspirational and priceless, and this is what I strive for each day.”
From left: Kamran Jillani, Associate Researcher; Carlton Bailey, Clinical Research Coordinator I; Janice Morinigo, Laboratory Coordinator III; and Amanda B. Merkelson, MPH, Associate Director
Amanda Merkelson, MPH, Associate Director of the BioMe Biobank Program, is proud of her team that has been instrumental in enrolling a diverse population of patients in the vital pursuit of genomic studies.
“Our laboratory and clinical research coordinators work tirelessly to offer the altruistic opportunity of a lifetime to any and all Mount Sinai patients,” she says. “They enable patients of all backgrounds, ages, and medical conditions to contribute to a future of personalized medicine where patients will be examined, treated, and diagnosed as unique individuals.”
Funded by The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, BioMe is a research biobank linked to the electronic medical record that enables IRB-approved researchers to rapidly and efficiently conduct genetic, epidemiologic, molecular, and genomic studies on large collections of de-identified research specimens. The BioMe program is at the center of the effort by Mount Sinai to lead the movement toward diagnosis and classification of disease according to a patient’s molecular profile.
In saluting her team, Amanda explains, “The clinical research coordinators are so warm, inviting, and knowledgeable, they have garnered the trust, love, admiration, and partnership of the practice staff and our beloved medical assistants across the Health System. The trustworthiness they are able to impart to all patients has led to their success with enrolling a diverse cohort of patients. Even populations that have been historically fearful of research or have been marginalized as far as participation opportunities are excited and eager to contribute to the future of health for generations to come.”
If you are interested in learning more about BioMe and contributing through enrolling, please contact BioMeBiobank@mssm.edu.
Both the Surgical and Transplant Intensive Care Units at The Mount Sinai Hospital received the Beacon Silver Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.
The Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes caregivers in stellar units whose consistent and systematic approach to evidence-based care optimizes patient outcomes. Units that receive this national recognition serve as role models to others on their journey to excellent patient and family care. This award highlights nursing excellence in the Intensive Care Units and the strong collaboration with our nursing leaders and the Institute for Critical Care Medicine.
“Congratulations to the entire team,” says David Reich, MD, President of The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens. “This award recognizes the exceptional care you provide to our patients and the supportive environment you have created for your teams.”
