One thing we learned during the crisis is how to collaborate more closely with our broader health system. MSBI is an incredibly special place; I have never worked in a hospital where colleagues treat their patients and each other so much like family members. Add the robustness, innovation, and collaboration of our larger system, and we have so much we can offer our community in times of need and every day.
I heard an inspiring story about cross-site collaboration a few weeks ago. A Mount Sinai Queens patient went to Mount Sinai Hospital to have her baby in early July. On top of having the stress of a pandemic, this patient also needed an American Sign Language Interpreter present for her care. The MSH team needed help finding that coverage, and Giselle Lopez-Ingram, the Language Coordinator at MSH, reached out to Hinde Nessanbaum, the Coordinator of Sign Language Interpreting Services at MSBI, to see if her team could help. She served as a point of contact throughout the patient’s care.
Above: Our colleague Giselle Lopez-Ingram at MSH helped coordinate getting interpreter services for their patient.
Hinde worked with her team to coordinate services for the patient. Instead of providing remote interpretation through video, nationally-certified MSBI Staff Interpreters Maria Towe and Jorge Collazo rotated spending time onsite at MSH, providing interpreting services for the patient, her family, and MSH staff. They provided extra coverage well past their usual shifts for several days. They worked closely with the physician and family to ensure that everyone involved understood and felt comfortable with the care every step of the way.
Below: Maria Towe and Jorge Collazo covered at MSH and went above and beyond to make sure everyone was comfortable with the care provided.
