Mount Sinai Queens employees pose with #SalsainQueens instructors after their lesson.
Dance contest winners Tara Roche, Stroke Educator, Mount Sinai Queens, left, and David Castillo, Central Supply Technician, Mount Sinai Queens, far right, with #SalsainQueens founder and instructor Jean Franco Vergaray, and instructor Jazmin Sagastiverza.
More than 60 employees at Mount Sinai Queens took an hour-long break on Friday, October 6, to learn how to salsa and participate in a fun-filled dance-off competition led by instructors from a dance studio in Astoria, #SalsainQueens. The event was sponsored by the employee resource group Heritage of Latino Alliance (HOLA), which is supported by the Mount Sinai Health System’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion. HOLA fosters a sense of community among Latino employees and sponsors activities such as dance classes and Spanish lessons. When HOLA distributes literature at various Mount Sinai events, “We do not let anyone pass by without stopping,” jokes Denise Colon, MSW, LCSW-R, Director of Social Work Services, and the Mount Sinai Queens HOLA chair. “We want to empower, promote the Latino culture, and show our presence.”