Dennis S. Charney, MD, left, and Kevin Chason, DO, far right, with the volunteers who attended the reception, front row from left: Colleen Fischer, RN; Emma Kaplan-Lewis, MD; Tamairi Vildoso, RN; and Stacy A. Conklin, MSN, MS, RN. And back row from left: Sarah Schaefer, MD; Melanie Pratts, RN; Erin Hogan, RN; Trina Cosme, RN; Christine Mahoney, MS, RN; and Madeline Hernandez, RN.
The 20 physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses who participated in two medical relief missions to Puerto Rico in October following the devastation of Hurricane Maria were saluted by Mount Sinai leadership at a reception Wednesday, January 17, held on The Mount Sinai Hospital campus.
The volunteers—representing all hospitals in the Mount Sinai Health System—were part of a massive effort involving the New York State Governor’s Office and the Department of Health, along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Greater New York Hospital Association, the Healthcare Association of New York State, the New York State Nurses Association, and 1199 SEIU.
“For long hours, you worked in makeshift clinics, you helped several thousand American citizens cope with the loss of hygienic living conditions and the scarcity of critical medicines, and you brought humanity back to those who felt they had been forgotten,” Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System, told the volunteers.
“You did not know what to expect, where you would be, the types of patients you would treat, or the conditions where you would live,” added Kevin Chason, DO, Clinical Director of Emergency Management, Mount Sinai Health System, and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Still, you managed to experience something few are able to do today in the practice of medicine—you were able to feel what it is like to practice medicine in the purest form.”
Volunteers were presented with an inscribed keepsake from Mount Sinai leadership recognizing their contributions. The Mount Sinai Health System also received a plaque, which was unveiled at the reception, from Governor Andrew Cuomo and others that thanked the Mount Sinai Health System and said, in part: “Your work exemplifies health care providers’ highest values of service and caring.”