Star makers included Mount Sinai staff, from left: Igvany Moncion, Jasmin Vazquez, Gabriella Villacis, and Nimota Subair
For three days in August, faculty and staff at the Selikoff Centers for Occupational Health invited patients and visitors to create stars of hope—wooden stars with messages of support and encouragement—to adorn their walls and li the spirits of the people who are treated there.
Located in The Mount Sinai Hospital, the Selikoff Centers focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of occupational diseases and is home to Mount Sinai’s World Trade Center Health Program Clinical Center of Excellence, which cares for more than 22,000 people who were part of the clean-up effort at Ground Zero after the attacks on 9/11. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, responders were exposed to harmful toxins that have resulted in significant health consequences.
The Selikoff Centers’ project was a joint effort with the New York Says Thank You Foundation, which created the “Stars of Hope®” program to empower and inspire people and communities throughout the world that have been impacted by violence and natural disasters.
During the week of 9/11, the stars that were created in August will be displayed on a Tree of Hope located in the Annenberg lobby.