Stories of Excellence | Mount Sinai Today

Letters of Appreciation: The Mount Sinai Hospital and the Birth of My New Son

May 7, 2021 | Letters of Appreciation, Stories of Excellence

Alanna Bonner, RN, left, and Arielle Sharpe, RN

“I thought I’d put together my and Kyle’s thoughts on the amazing people that we encountered at The Mount Sinai Hospital for the birth of my new son.

Arielle Sharpe, RN: She was super competent and had amazing, calming energy. I can’t believe she, herself, was 34 weeks pregnant! She made us feel instantly at ease and that we were in excellent hands. We were particularly nervous as this was our first child, and Arielle was the first person we interacted with at the hospital. The anxiety level went down immediately after interacting with her.

Alanna Bonner, RN, BSN: She took such good care of us in the thick of things. What an ideal person to have with you in the delivery room! As I was pushing, she was cheering me on and was so helpful throughout the whole process. My husband compared her to a coxswain in rowing, who is used to motivate people, and get the most out of them when they are truly exhausted—and I thought that was an apt comparison.

Emily Barasch and husband and son

Ruoru Huang, RN: We loved Ruo! She was truly so kind. On night one, as I was sleeping and Kyle, also running on zero sleep, was taking care of the baby, Ruo stepped in and took care of him for a few hours so Kyle could sleep too. It was crucial and so sweet of her! Kyle would later talk about this simple gesture as if Rou pulled him out of a burning building; she really saved him! She also just seems to love babies and clearly has a special way with them.

Miriam Polanco, RN: Miriam was our last nurse, and though admittedly the last bit of the hospital is slightly a blur, Miriam was so incredibly helpful getting us situated and had a really loving vibe.

Jessie Kempner, MD: Having her as my doctor was an amazing experience! She was so on top of it, an excellent communicator, and a comforting presence. She made sure we were very comfortable and attended to, and was overall just very lovely to have there.

My husband, Kyle, and I have always told our delivery story with the most sincere of praise to the incredible team of doctors and nurses that made such an intimidating process so much less so due to their kindness and expertise.”

–Emily Barasch

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Delighting New Moms at Mount Sinai West with Food and Friendship

May 7, 2021 | Stories of Excellence

Bernadette Sterling

Bernadette Sterling, a 15-year veteran of the Mount Sinai Health System, loves her job in Food Services at Mount Sinai West, where she covers the Obstetrics service, taking meal requests for moms-to-be and new moms. But for Bernadette, her charge is more than delivering a hot meal or making sure allergies are noted and food preferences are met.

“I want these moms to be happy,” she says. “I will ask them if they need anything, and if I have a little extra time, chat with them and get to know them personally or tell them something about me.” A note from a recent patient confirms she excels in her mission. “Ms. Bernadette went above and beyond to make sure my meals were exactly what I needed, even with my food allergies. She is such an amazing person and made my stay the best experience ever.”

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KidZone TV Manager Brings Joy and Fun to Young Patients

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Stories of Excellence

Mathea Jacobs, left, and David Reich, MD, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Mount Sinai Hospital

For young patients and their families, being in the hospital can be an especially difficult experience, with many unknowns. One of the staff at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital who strives to make these patients’ hospital stays positive and empowering is Mathea Jacobs, a program manager on the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy team, who has overseen KidZone TV for the past six years.

KidZone TV is a state-of-the-art, interactive production and internal broadcast studio within Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital. KidZone TV produces live programming for pediatric patients and families five times a day, seven days a week, which is broadcast throughout Kravis Children’s Hospital on a dedicated channel.

Learning, socialization, and creativity are promoted through popular interactive games like Bingo, Name That Tune, Text Twist, and KidZone Trivia shows. In addition, KidZone TV Presents features entertainers and celebrities who lend excitement to daily programming and includes collaborations with local cultural organizations such as the American Ballet Theater and Broadway Hearts. Children who are not confined to their rooms can participate as camera operators, storywriters, or hosts of the show, while others have the opportunity to view the program and participate by calling in and answering a question, creating a story, or winning prizes.

Mathea works with the department’s Child Life Specialists, Art and Music Therapists to help them host and create therapeutically rich and engaging live shows which strengthen the healing partnerships with their patients. In this process, Mathea gets to know our pediatric patients and is able to develop unique shows that engage, distract, educate, and bring joy throughout each day.

Mathea says she decided to take her production and creative skills into health care in order to do something “meaningful and important.”

She explains, “Bringing a child out of his or her shell and finding a new way of expressing feelings during a hospital stay is invaluable.” Her deep commitment to having the studio be a positive experience for hospitalized children extends even beyond the walls of Mount Sinai. With support from the Child Life and studio teams, she leads yearly training sessions for similar professionals in other hospitals, sharing knowledge and experience so that patients around the country might benefit from similar programming.

Recently Mathea was honored by David Reich, MD, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Mount Sinai Hospital, for her work and dedication in this year’s virtual pediatric/perinatal memorial service.

KidZoneTV programming has been generously funded for one year by the Mount Sinai Auxiliary Board.

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Colleagues Pay Tribute to a “Star” on Their Team

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Stories of Excellence

Luz Amarilis Lugo, MD, says this about Florence “Flo” Rosser: “Your motivation and initiative help our team provide excellent care to all our patients.” Read more testimonials here.

Florence “Flo” Rosser has worked at Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai Morningside for thirteen years as a Medical Office Assistant, and is currently at the Samuels Clinic at Mount Sinai West. The Samuels Clinic is a division of the Institute for Advanced Medicine and serves patients with HIV as well as the LGBTQ community.

According to Flo, she takes care of the “best patients” and works with an “amazing team.” They clearly think the same of her. She has been called an “angel” and a “star” and her work “exemplary.” A team player who goes “above and beyond” for patients and her colleagues, Flo was recently praised by her colleagues for her outstanding work in the vaccination pods and helping schedule patients and colleagues at Mount Sinai and at city clinics.

“Her passion and dedication to patient care is inspiring,” says Jean Reisman DiNapoli, DNP, RN. “When I heard about her taking on vaccine scheduling for patients all on her own, it didn’t surprise me. We are lucky to have Flo on our team.”

Flo’s approach to patient care is simple. “I treat patients the way I would want to be treated, and I want them to leave the clinic with a smile.” With respect to her colleagues, “I want to make sure they are happy, and I want to solve their problems. Importantly, if I can, I want to give them five minutes without stress in their day.”

Click here to see the tribute created by her colleagues.

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Ruth Levy, NP, Makes a Profound Connection in a Vaccine Pod at The Mount Sinai Hospital

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Stories of Excellence

Ruth Levy, NP

Loida Lopez, Executive Assistant in Marketing at the Mount Sinai Health System, feels compelled to personally thank Ruth Levy, NP, the nurse practitioner who recently administered the COVID-19 vaccine to her aunt.

It was an emotional moment for her aunt, who lost her husband to COVID-19 in April 2020.

“My aunt was thinking that if the vaccine had been available last year, her husband might still be alive today,” Loida says. “As Ruth was explaining the vaccine process, my aunt began to remember the past and cry, so Ruth listened in a compassionate way to her speak about her family, consoled and supported her.”

Ruth has been on staff at The Mount Sinai Hospital for 26 years and has worked on the front lines caring for COVID-19 patients in the Neurosurgery Intensive Care Unit since the start of the pandemic.

“I jumped at the opportunity to be deployed to the vaccine pods when needed,“ Ruth says. “I was excited to help people fight this disease after seeing so many succumb to it, but I also knew the interaction in the pods, outside of the intensity and isolation of the ICU, would be therapeutic for me.”

She continues, “My experience with Loida’s aunt was emotional for me, as well. Having supported so many families who were losing their loved ones, I had to take a deep breath upon hearing her story and sharing her talk about her loss. In a way, her husband was my patient, and we were on this journey together. We understood each other in a profound way.”

Loida also was deeply taken by her aunt’s patient experience. “I was already proud to be an employee of Mount Sinai, but hearing my aunt’s experience has made me even prouder,” she says. “Thank you again, Ms. Levy, for all you continue to do–as well as all of our health care workers. Thank you!”

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At Mount Sinai Brooklyn, the COVID-19 Vaccine ‘Pod People’ Treat Everyone Like Family

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

Barbra Naccash, left, received her vaccine from Kristine Ortiz, RN, who had cared for Barbra’s mother a year ago when the mother entered Mount Sinai Brooklyn with COVID-19. “Although I could not save her mother’s life, by giving Barbra the COVID-19 vaccine, perhaps I saved hers,” Kristine says.

Kristine Ortiz, RN, a Mount Sinai Health System nurse for 11 years, has been at Mount Sinai Brooklyn for three years, and calls it a “hometown hospital.” This is largely because of the camaraderie of the staff and the diversity of the patients. “You hear Chinese, Creole, and Hebrew among other languages,” Kristine says. “I have my ‘bubbes’ who, like all of my patients, I consider family and treat as such.”

Since January, Kristine has overseen the three MSB vaccine pods. Partnering with Philip Repaci, RN and assistant nurse manager Valerie Hechanova, RN, they call themselves the “pod people,” a name coined by Philip. Working the pods has brought them close. “The emotions run high in the pods,” Kristine says. “We laugh and cry with each other and the people coming in for vaccinations, but they are tears of joy, of course.”

Those receiving vaccinations are treated like family, as well. “We have people coming in for vaccines as old as 102 and have to be mindful of their frailty and mental capacity,“ Kristine explains. Patients are grateful for their care; many days Kristine and her team are awash in Dunkin Donuts and coffee. But, she says, so many staff offer to volunteer—the clergy, nurses from the OR, physicians—that there are many colleagues with whom to share these tokens of appreciation.

One such appreciative patient is Barbra Naccash. In March 2020, Barbra’s mother fell in her apartment in an assisted living community. When she was transferred to Mount Sinai Brooklyn, it was noted she had symptoms of COVID-19. Barbra called every day, and Kristine would get on the phone and update her on her mother’s condition. Kristine also helped Barbra and her mother do FaceTime visits. “I looked at her like a surrogate daughter to my mother,” Barbra says. “She was an angel. Combing my mother’s hair and holding her hand when I could not do those things for her.”

Sadly, Barbra’s mother passed away from complications of the virus. Kristine and Barbra kept in touch by phone, learning about each other’s families and getting to know one another. During one call in February 2021, Kristine inquired about Barbra’s vaccination status. When Barbra and her husband were eligible for COVID-19 vaccine, Kristine helped with scheduling and eventually gave them the shots herself. Barbra and Kristine had never met, so they arranged to meet outside of the hospital that day. The tears flowed during a social distanced “hug.”

“This was a full-circle family experience,” Kristine says. “Although I could not save her mother’s life, by giving Barbra the COVID-19 vaccine, perhaps I saved hers.”