Sarah Avila, MD, and Colin Anderson, MD, at the Elmhurst Hospital Emergency Department.
Hours after Douglas Fredrick, MD, Deputy Chair of Education of Mount Sinai Ophthalmology, asked residents to volunteer to be redeployed, six out of twelve residents raised their hands. Two of them were deployed to the Elmhurst Hospital Emergency Department, and three of them were deployed to The Mount Sinai Hospital medical floors. One had to stay home because a family member was sick.
Dr. Fredrick and I have never been prouder of our ophthalmology trainees in our entire teaching careers. It is one thing to be told to go somewhere, which many health care systems did with their trainees. It is another level of commitment, service, and bravery, to raise your hand and volunteer to go to the very front lines of the most deadly and frightening pandemic our generation has witnessed.
Colin Anderson, MD, and Sarah Avila, MD, PGY-4s, worked in the Elmhurst ED. Cesar Alfaro, MD, Kirolos Ibrahim, MD, and Ethan Sobol, MD, PGY-3s, worked on the medical floors at The Mount Sinai Hospital. Ethan, Cesar, and Kirolos all took care of patients who died due to COVID and were the first people to share that terrible news with their family members. Colin and Sarah were working hard in the ED during the peak, when oxygen requirements were the highest priority.
Many residents formed new and lasting relationships with members of the team. The volunteer aspect of the teams automatically elevated the spirit of camaraderie and mutual understanding and respect. Some had patients who had remarkable turnarounds.
Ethan Sobol, MD, right, with Kihira Shingo, MD.
All of the residents developed a deeper appreciation for working in teams and for the vital roles that each member plays. One of them reminded me that the physician who discovered the virus was an ophthalmologist. When the Elmhurst ED was short on non-rebreather masks (NRB), Colin was able to invent more NRBs with a physician assistant by being creative with different parts of medical equipment. It worked and saved lives, and many ED doctors have already asked and learned how to make it.
These five individuals demonstrated the most honorable qualities of being a model physician during this crisis. Thank you Colin, Cesar, Sarah, Kirolos, and Ethan for your service. We applaud and salute you and look forward to welcoming you to our Alumni Association soon!
Submitted by Paul Lee, MD, President, Department of Ophthalmology Alumni Association, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai/Mount Sinai Hospital
This story is excerpted from a letter written by Dr. Lee to the Alumni Association of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. To read the entire letter, please go to https://conta.cc/2zlYmEa