Sarah Koppel, LCSW
Hot and humid weather is unpleasant for most people. But for those with lung disease and no way to keep cool, these conditions can be life-threatening.
Sarah Koppel, LCSW, a social worker at Mount Sinai’s Visiting Doctors Program, learned that Brenda Lescombe—a homebound patient who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and relies on supplemental oxygen—did not have air conditioning. Brenda was told she would receive an air conditioning unit from the city but had been waiting for months, and a heat wave was in full force.
Sarah tried to determine the cause of the delay, but without success.
Sarah “always goes beyond the call of duty for her patients,” says Silvia Chavez, ANP-BC, Associate Director of Nursing for Visiting Doctors.
True to form, Sarah found a solution: Working closely with colleague Elaine Williams, LMSW, she secured special emergency funds to buy an air conditioner, got a taxi driver to help transport it, and reached out to building management at the patient’s complex to ensure it would be installed in a timely manner.
Brenda “can’t say enough” about Sarah’s efforts. “She just about saved my life.”