Jacquline Mullakary, PharmD, a pharmacy manager on the team.

I lead a team of seven Mount Sinai Health System Ambulatory Primary Care pharmacists. We work collaboratively with primary care physicians to care for their patients. Many of these health care providers have been called upon to help with COVID-19 care in emergency departments and hospital ICUs.  We are reaching out to patients to help manage their care in order to reduce the risk they will need to be seen at the Emergency Department or Urgent Care or require a PCP visit.

The value of the team’s remote interventions was recently evidenced when a patient with diabetes improved from having extremely uncontrolled to controlled blood sugar levels through phone consultation alone. Within a few short weeks, the clinical pharmacist was able to start, titrate, and provide counseling about the patient’s medications via phone. Normal blood sugar can reduce the risk for many conditions, including complications from COVID-19. Given the conditions of seclusion that make regular exercise, a healthy diet, and traditional job workflows and access to clinicians challenging for many of these patients in the community, along with higher than normal anxiety levels, we are particularly proud of this accomplishment. Way to go, team!

Ruchi Tiwari, PharmD, MS, Director of Pharmacy, Population Health, Mount Sinai Health System

Mount Sinai Morningside Emergency Department Administrative leadership wants to recognize the following staff from the float pool who stepped up and helped to get us through the peak of the COVID-19 crisis. They are: Lascellies Brown-Crawford, Latoya Cruz, Melinda Roman, and Gaylynn Walker. These women came from Ambulatory and jumped right in to assist our Business Associates with our extremely high volume of patients. Lascellies, Latoya, Melinda, and Gaylynn weathered the storm with us, setting aside any fears they may have had about working in the ED. They fit right in with the team, facilitating registrations and discharges, and were a source of comfort and joy in this tough time. We could not have gotten through the crisis without them, and we sincerely appreciate their dedication to our patients and their support to our front line.

Patricia Regan, MHA, Administrative Director, Emergency Services, Mount Sinai Morningside

Michael Prodromou, MD

This battle of a lifetime has overwhelmed staff, and the Mount Sinai Health Network has been called upon to aid those institutions in our system most in need of support. Pulmonologist Michael Prodromou, MD, who works at Mount Sinai Doctors-Long Island, was reassigned to Mount Sinai Queens. When asked to deploy, he did so graciously with a deep understanding of our mission as Mount Sinai physicians. He has integrated seamlessly into the Mount Sinai Queens staff in a congenial manner so typical of his demeanor. Michael has been traveling 90 minutes each way from home to MSQ, and is now on the front lines. He dons and doffs PPE from morning until night, consults on the sickest of patients, and still remains steadfast in his commitment to our patients and the Mount Sinai Health System. On one of our daily touchdowns, he summed it up so eloquently: “Today I saw the worst of human condition and the best of humanity.” I am proud to be his colleague.

Scott Ingber, MD, Senior Medical Director, Mount Sinai Health Network, Mount Sinai Doctors-Long Island                                                                                                                          

A story of compassionate care from cardiologist Barry Love, MD:

Angelica is a 27-year-old woman with Congenital Long QT syndrome (LQTS).  LQTS is an inherited condition where the heart takes longer than normal to reset after each electrical beat.  Because of this, patients are at risk for sudden, life-threatening rhythm problems that can lead to fainting, seizures, and even sudden death.  Angelica first came to us at 19 years of age when she had worrisome episodes of fainting.  After a full evaluation, we decided she needed an implantable defibrillator.  In the event of a serious life-threatening rhythm problem, the defibrillator could shock the heart back into a normal rhythm.  Despite medication, Angelica has had three life-saving shocks from her defibrillator over the years.

Late last week, Angelica called to say she had experienced another shock from her defibrillator.  Although she was feeling well, the defibrillator was programmed to alarm daily after a shock to remind the patient of the need to get the device checked.  Angelica’s defibrillator alarm was ringing daily and worrying her.  Normally, a patient like this would be seen in the office to do a simple reprogramming of the defibrillator. However Angelica’s only way to come to the hospital was by subway.  We had heightened concern about her contracting COVID-19 because the drugs used to treat COVID (hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin) cannot be safely used in Long QT patients.

We arranged a home visit on Sunday, where I met Angelica at her apartment in Queens.  Using a portable defibrillator programmer, I reprogrammed the defibrillator.  Angelica was saved a trip to the hospital, and I was also able to do some grocery shopping for my mother-in-law, who lives close by!

Shinetta Olivo, left, and Selma Torres sharing a safe-distancing high five.

The Geriatrics Practice at the Martha Stewart Center for Living was advised to relocate our practice within 48 hours due to COVID-19 as we share our space with Express Care and there was an abundance of caution about the safety of our patients. Everything had to go: computers, medical equipment, exam beds, medications, all office supplies, fax machines.

Selma Torres, Senior Director of Medical Specialty for Ambulatory Care, permitted our entire department to move to the practice at 17 East 102nd Street. Selma moved her providers and specialty practice to another floor to ensure my team had adequate space. She provided patient exam rooms, a supply room, and even a staff lounge. A supervisor on her team, Alan Godoy, assisted us with all of our IT issues, including phone extension transfer, computer mapping, and anything else we needed to get settled in the practice. All of this would have been a significant challenge without Selma’s vision and commitment to patient safety.

Thank you, Selma. I will forever be grateful for your social distanced hugs!

Shinetta Olivo, Administrative Manager, Martha Stewart Center for Living

Our exceptional Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center team is doing tremendous work to support our patients during the COVID-19 crisis, including providing social work and mental health resources to address their anxiety.

Our team is also partnering with the Cardiology Teaching Service, led by Greg Serrao, MD. Recently, they helped admit and then manage a young patient in his 20s with only one functioning ventricle and underlying liver fibrosis.

This is a severely complex congenital heart lesion. The patient came in with COVID-19 symptoms and as a high risk patient, was likely to deteriorate rapidly. He was cared for in a timely manner and is now being discharged.

This required multidisciplinary care on many fronts and speaks of how well the Mount Sinai Heart team comes together in times of need. Kudos to all and for saving the life of a young congenital heart disease patient!  Thank you Dr. Serrao; Alice Chan, NP;  Amy Coleman, LCSW;  Lindsay Nortman, RN;  Ron Williams; Rajvi Kadakia, PA; and Barry Love, MD.

Ali Zaidi, MD, Director, Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Mount Sinai Heart