Mount Sinai’s medical volunteers (named below) in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
In often steamy conditions amid heavy rains, 10 medical volunteers from the Mount Sinai Health System are attending to almost 200 patients a day in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Halfway through their two-week mission to the island still recovering from Hurricane Maria, the contingent of three physicians and seven nurses have treated common injuries and illnesses, minor trauma, infections, and complications that Puerto Rico residents have experienced because their access to medication to treat chronic illnesses was disrupted by the storm. The team coordinates the care of more critically ill patients with the local hospital, which is operating on generator power.
Hospital HIMA San Pablo - Fajardo
An exterior view of the volunteer housing tent
Volunteers enjoy some down time
From left: Melanie Pratts, RN, and Erin Hogan, RN
After 12-hour shifts, volunteers eat prepackaged meals, launder clothing in a sink, and bed down on cots in a tent. Though the days are long and conditions difficult, the team is thoroughly committed to assisting the people of Puerto Rico.
The Mount Sinai volunteers are working as part of a larger team that includes a federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team, the Department of Defense, and volunteers from Montefiore Medical Center. This important mission is coordinated through the Puerto Rico Department of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the New York State Department of Health. As this two-week mission comes to a close, preparations are under way to send an additional team from Mount Sinai.
Back row from left: Colleen Fischer, RN, Nurse Manager, Mount Sinai Beth Israel; Karendip Kaur Braich, MD, Nephrology Fellow, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Helen Rosario, RN, Mount Sinai Brooklyn; and Emma Kaplan-Lewis, MD, Assistant Professor, Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Front row from left: Juan Baez, RN, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s; Melanie Pratts, RN, Director of Medical Systems, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai; Christine Mahoney, RN, MS, AGACNP-BC, CCRN, Senior Vice President, Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer, Mount Sinai Downtown; Stacey A. Conklin, MS, MSN, RN, NE-BC, Vice President for Patient Care Services, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai; and Kevin Munjal, MD, Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.