Blair Goldberg

Blair Goldberg and Allison Scherich, two actors, have more in common than careers in the theater. Years ago, both delivered babies at Mount Sinai West. And both were so moved by their experiences, they are now pursuing new careers in labor and delivery nursing.

Blair progressed through labor rapidly, a situation that requires careful monitoring.

“My labor and delivery nurse, Keira Downes Vogel , was wonderful. Calm, cool, and collected,” she says, “Keira kept watch and alerted my wonderful physician, Richard Wind, MD, as I was dilating so quickly. I had not wanted a natural childbirth, but my son Nolan had other ideas. Keira was positive and motivating and helped me get through my apprehension.”

Blair was also focused on breastfeeding as she had experienced difficulties after the birth of her first child and wanted to nurse right away.

“You could say I was obsessed,” she says. “I was determined not to repeat that failed attempt.” She credits Kristen Giordano, BSN, Nurse Manager for Maternal Child Health at Mount Sinai West, for making it happen.

“Kristen made sure I was introduced to a lactation consultant right away, and she gave me her personal cell number so I could call if there were any delays or any other problems.  Kristen didn’t wait for my call, but checked on me during the day to make sure everything was going well. She also arranged for a second lactation consultant whom I had researched before my delivery and was known for her expertise, to see me shortly before my discharge. That meant the world to me.”

Allie Scherich, right, and Kristen Giordano, BSN. Photos taken prior to the pandemic.

Allie Scherich’s labor and delivery process was not so quick. Pregnant with twins, she experienced complications due to preeclampsia, a condition that causes high blood pressure in the mother-to-be.  At twenty-eight weeks, Allie was admitted, and she was in and out of Mount Sinai West for the next six weeks.

She also has high praise for Kristen. “This was an incredibly scary time for me. It was my first pregnancy, and Kristen made me feel cared for; I did not feel like a number. She also looked out for my husband, and got to know him, making sure he was informed and comfortable.”

Allie is appreciative of the entire team. “I had a seizure after birth and my babies had to be cared for in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Everyone on the antepartum floor was incredibly kind, and saw me through this challenging time.”

Allie describes her treatment at Mount Sinai West as “highly personal.” She adds, “I felt like I was at a community hospital, not a big city medical center.”

Blair and Allie say they want to provide other new moms with care similar to the care they received.

For Blair, the decision to go into nursing was based on a number of factors. “I have loved my acting career but the pandemic put me out of work indefinitely, and I began to think about my other passions and interests,” she says. “I have never forgotten my experience at Mount Sinai West and I am so excited to work towards my nursing license.”

Allie is in her second semester of the nursing program at Concordia College and echoes the sentiment. “I definitely got the bug to be a labor and delivery nurse from my experience at Mount Sinai West. It made such an impact on me; I want to do the same for others.”

Allie Scherich’s twin babies

When Suzanne Wetanson first came to meet Sundar Jagannath, MD, Director of the Center of Excellence for Multiple Myeloma and Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) at The Tisch Cancer Institute, she felt very scared and insecure, only knowing she had a blood disorder, but not much else.

She says this about Dr. Jagannath: “He made me feel secure, safe, and comfortable. He actually made me laugh! In the years since that first meeting, Dr. Jagannath has always been available to answer questions or talk about my concerns. I think he is a genius; a unique physician who will think out of the box to meet a patient’s needs. Truly remarkable—you do not find physicians like Dr. Jagannath every day.”

Suzanne, an artist, created a sculpture for Dr. Jagannath, which he donated to The Derald H. Ruttenberg Treatment Center of The Tisch Cancer Institute.

Suzanne says, “I wanted to bring beauty and peace of mind to his patients.”

Alexis Merino, left, and Diego Garcia

Relax and Refresh is a collaboration between The Mount Sinai Hospital Obstetrics team and Eleven West, Mount Sinai’s premium amenities unit, to provide healthy snack options to mothers before and after delivery.

Food is prepared by the culinary team at Eleven West and is delivered to each patient room by the Eleven West Guest Services team. The snacks are designed to be healthy and allergy friendly, with vegan options. Piloted in October 2020 and fully implemented a month later, the program has been a resounding success, judging from  patient response.

Mothers are enthusiastic about the snacks and equally impressed by the two 11 West Guest Service staffers who deliver the snacks, Diego Garcia and Alexis Merino. Here are a few of the patients’ comments:

“The food/snack is delicious, and the guy that comes to deliver it to each patient is so polite and always has a smile on his face. Makes you feel like he is a friend and you might forget for a while you are at a hospital.”

“The food and smoothies have been delicious. The people delivering the food are so kind and accommodating. One of the best parts of the day! “

“The presentation of the food, as well as the smile and the dress code on the person delivering the food, was great. The food was delicious. I even decided to keep the cup that the smoothie came in because it has the Mount Sinai logo on it. Love it!”

Diego considers all of his patients “family,” and says, “I ‘m going to do my very best for them. I want them to be relaxed.” Alexis feels the same way. “I really enjoy what I do. My goal is to go above and beyond and provide patients with a magical experience.”

Cynthia Tejeda

Project coordinator Cynthia Tejeda is a true leader at Mount Sinai Morningside (MSM). No matter the issue, she is ready to give 110 percent of herself to the cause.  It is hard to even know where at MSM Cynthia works, as she supports so many different departments and is always ready to jump in and help others.

From Sunday, January 31, to Tuesday, February 2, almost twenty inches of snow fell in Manhattan, at times faster than the city workers and hospital vendor could shovel and clean the roads and sidewalks.  Both the City and State declared a state of emergency; much of the transit system shut down, and people were asked to stay off the roads. For MSM, this meant that many staff wanted to come to work over Sunday night, ahead of their Monday shifts. Staff ending a night shift Monday morning were unable to leave the city, and Monday’s day staff were having difficulty getting into the hospital.

Throughout the snowstorm emergency, Cynthia was on the list of Mount Sinai Morningside staff required to support the IMT Command Center, an initiative that provides assistance to the hospital leadership in emergencies.  The Command Center was assigned to take over the calls for staff accommodations for the snowstorm, in addition to the COVID-19-related escalation requests the call center was already receiving.

Even before her assigned shifts were to start on Sunday, Cynthia knew a colleague wasn’t feeling well and jumped right in to help, showing her dedication to true teamwork.   Over two days, Cynthia supported redeployed call center staff and even answered the phones herself to help ensure that staff had accommodations before, between, and after shifts. The call center answered more than 200 calls from staff between Saturday evening and Monday morning through one phone line.

Along with Kathleen Scanlin, Data Base Manager, and Janet Goldberg, Director of the AIDS Center at The Mount Sinai Hospital—two redeployed staff helping MSM with the COVID-19 response—Cynthia calmly and quickly answered questions about accommodations, parking, food services, shuttle services, and other issues  from staff across MSM.

Cynthia worked professionally throughout the response and constantly worked to help calm staff and provide continual information. Her empathy and focus on staff safety were evident throughout all of her interactions with staff, managers, and senior leaders. Cynthia worked tirelessly to ensure that everyone had a safe place to sleep and that everyone knew where the rest areas were.  She checked in on staff and answered questions about accommodations. Her concern for the well-being of staff remained strong, despite the sheer number of calls received.

In this emergency, and indeed throughout COVID-19, Cynthia’s dedication to MSM has been truly inspirational. Cynthia is a true leader, and I’m so grateful that she is here and dedicated to supporting our team.

Submitted by: Shannan Saunders, Assistant Director Emergency Management, Mount Sinai Morningside

Charleen Jacobs, MS, ANP-BC, a nurse practitioner in the Mount Sinai Health System Adult Sickle Cell program, Co-Chair of Sinai Nurses Against Pain, and winner of the MSHS Nurse Practitioner Week’s Resilience in Action award, is modest. “Nurses don’t like to take credit,” she says. “Caring for patients is our job.”

But Charleen has shown she goes far beyond the call of duty. Her award nomination letter from the directors of the Sickle Cell Program team—Jena Simon, DNP, FNP-BC; Jeffrey Glassberg, MD, MA; and Brittany McCrary, MS, AGNP-BC—includes the following praises:

“During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Jacobs remained a committed team member. She contributed to the rapid deployment of telemedicine and offered patients innovative strategies to manage acute complications of their disease. She responded to patients during non-working hours, and she kept many patients out of the Emergency Department, safely, at home.”

“Ms. Jacobs plays a vital role in developing the sickle cell disease workforce. In the United States, there is a shortage of providers with expertise in sickle cell. Charleen has precepted several nurse practitioner students and inspired some to enter the field.”

“Ms. Jacobs is appreciated and loved by her patients. They value her empathy and warmth and rely on her to deliver evidenced-based care that she tailors to each individual. She also works with community-based organizations to mobilize needed resources and support for her patients.”

Charleen, a PhD candidate, is always thinking about how best to serve her patients. She is excited that telemedicine will continue to offer patients who have difficulty traveling to Mount Sinai the means to get the care they need. And she hopes that someday home-based services will also be available to those patients who need them.

“Working with patients living with sickle cell disease is a passion,” Charleen says. “While the work to support our patients can be challenging, my inspiration to continue providing high-quality care comes from understanding the needs of patients affected by sickle cell disease. My advanced practice nursing skills have enabled me to connect with and serve patients so that they can live full and healthy lives. This work takes a village, and I could not do without my amazing team. I am honored and humbled to receive the Resilience in Action Award and thankful for the recognition.”

Alexander Barash, MD, left, and Vincent Sun, MD, NYEE

Greg Conti, a retired Army officer and cybersecurity expert, remembers exactly when he first noticed seeing a “constellation of little black dots” floating in his right eye. It was in December 2019, when he was having dinner with his wife and her mother. He quickly made an appointment with his ophthalmologist, who sent him to a retinologist, who referred him to the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary at Mount Sinai (NYEE). He also recalls the exact date (December 27) and time (7:29 pm) he walked into the lobby of NYEE.

Greg was seen by a number of doctors, including the attending ophthalmologist and a retinology fellow, Vincent Sun, MD. “The thought of losing my sight was the most stressful experience of my life. And that is significant, because I served in the U.S. Army for 27 years, including two overseas tours of duty.” He adds, “I had no reason to think I could go blind. Yet here I was, contemplating that future.” Thankfully, after speaking with Dr. Sun, Greg was reassured and hopeful. “Dr. Sun told me I had a large tear in my retina, and it was detached. But he explained in detail how it would be repaired. I thought to myself, ‘I am in good hands, he’s got this.’” On Sunday, December 29, Dr. Sun and retina specialist Alexander Barash, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, performed emergency surgery on Greg’s right eye.

Greg returned home for follow-ups near his upstate home, but in late February 2020, he experienced similar floaters in his left eye. Once again, Dr. Sun and Dr. Barash performed emergency sight-saving surgery on Greg.

Drs. Sun and Barash say Greg’s case is rare. “The likelihood of a retinal detachment is approximately 1 in 10,000 in the general population, and less than 2 in 1,000,000 will have a detachment in their second eye as well,” Dr. Barash says. “Greg did the right thing: he went to an eye doctor as soon as he noticed changes in his vision. This allowed him to have sight-saving surgery early in the disease process and gave him the best possible visual outcome. He can still read the 20/20 line on the chart today!”

Mr. Conti developed retinal tears and retinal separation spontaneously, not due to any known injury”, Dr. Sun says. “Anyone can have a retinal detachment, but some people are at higher risk if a family member experienced the same injury, as was the case for Mr. Conti. A dilated eye exam can help your eye doctor find a small retinal tear or detachment early, before it starts to affect your vision.”

Greg has nothing but praise for Dr. Sun and Dr. Barash. “I felt so reassured in their care. They saved me from complete blindness. I am forever in their debt.”