Members of the Department of Neurology stroke team at The Mount Sinai Hospital.

When COVID broke out, I was left in limbo—wanting to help, but not yet having the clinical skills to do so. As a scholarly year student, I joined the Precision Recovery hotline, which was a partnership between the two departments I worked with during the year (Neurosurgery, and Rehabilitation and Human Performance).

Fielding calls, I heard from a range of patients, from those concerned about their symptoms to others who were just discharged. A week later, I was blindsided when my dad became a COVID-19 patient. His case was severe. He suffered a stroke, the virus had spread, and with his altered mental state, I felt as if I lost him for a while.

Daniel Chiu, MD, a Neurology resident at The Mount Sinai Hospital, had an unparalleled level of empathy. This was evident in the daily updates I got about my father and the FaceTime calls he set up for us, especially the one on my birthday. The clinical attention and compassion my dad received are all marks of an extraordinary doctor. Although I’m not on the front lines, I’m certain that Dr. Chiu is upholding the integrity of the field we all entered.

There are so many more people I’d like to thank – Christopher Kellner, MD; David Putrino, PT, PhD; Trevor Pour, MD; Laura Stein, MD, and every other member of my Mount Sinai family. Because of them, my dad is going home today. May God bless every single health care worker out there right now. Stay safe. Stay strong.

Submitted by
Rebecca Baron
Scholarly Year Student
Medical Education
The Mount Sinai Hospital

Craig Feinman, DPT, ACLS, is a cardiac physical therapy master clinician who works with Mount Sinai Heart. He says his life was forever changed recently as he answered the call to save a life—actually two lives.

Craig was in the hallway on 7C at The Mount Sinai Hospital, fully dressed in PPE, when he was called in to assist with CPR for a pregnant COVID-19 patient who was in cardiac arrest in a neighboring room.

Craig assisted by immediately providing chest compressions until he was relieved by the others on the code team. The patient survived, as did her baby, born at 30 weeks in an emergency C-section.  Craig says this experience is “humbling” and credits a multidisciplinary team of professionals for the successful outcome.

The Department of Rehabilitation and Performance Medicine is very proud to have Craig, and all of our other physical, occupational, and speech therapists, on the front lines, helping patients during this crisis.

Submitted by Melissa Gunning, MBA, PT, Director of Rehabilitation Department Rehabilitation and Human Performance, The Mount Sinai Hospital

The staff of Cytology Operations collected approximately $400 to create 210 individual snack packages for various departments across The Mount Sinai Hospital, including the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Units, Operating Rooms, Environmental Services, Security, and Lab Medicine.

Each department head was also presented with a hand-written note conveying appreciation and gratitude for the sacrifices and hard work of staff as we try to fight through this pandemic.

This outstanding gesture is a great example of how our Mount Sinai values come to life and the commitment our community shows to one another other in these difficult times.

Sara Olson, Cytology Operations Manager, Mount Sinai Health System

The Center for Advanced Medical Simulation (CAMS) at Mount Sinai West has been training redeployed clinical staff (who have volunteered to help care for patients on the critical care units) on prone ventilation positioning for COVID-19 patients.

Proning improves lung functions—oxygen delivery and exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Redeployed medical staff include orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, anesthesiologists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and physical and occupational therapists. Their willingness, keen interest, enormous energy and deep dedication to be there for our patients by these redeployed staff are evident.

The training program, overseen by Joseph Mathew, MD, who leads the Center for Advanced Medical Simulation and our Critical Care units, has been highly successful. Dr. Mathew implemented this training while running a busy intensive care unit during the height of the COVID-19 crisis. Thank you, Dr. Mathew, CAMS team and redeployed staff!

Submitted by Brian Miller, Director, Department of Marketing , Mount Sinai West

Priscilla Loanzon, Director, Simulation Education Center for Advanced Medical Simulation, Mount Sinai West

An elderly man was admitted with COVID-19. He was very sleepy and did not open his eyes or respond on physical exam.

His family requested that we arrange a Zoom conversation, and I advised them that I wasn’t sure he would be able to participate due to his mental status.

Ultimately, I brought the iPad in because his family wanted to be able to see him, and it was truly the least I could do. I remained skeptical as to how much the patient could engage. 

However, once the patient heard the voices of his family members (wife, son, and grandchildren were all on the video conference), he opened his eyes.

His daughter reminded him that he used to sing the song “Sentimental Journey” to his kids. She started to sing it: “Gonna take a sentimental journey, gonna set my heart at ease. Gonna make a sentimental journey, to renew old memories” and he opened his eyes and smiled.

Bringing the family to the patient via the iPad turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences during this terrible time. I am now embracing this new existence in the matrix.

 Submitted by Grace Farris, MD, Chief of Hospital Medicine, Mount Sinai West