Issue 20 February 2019 Infusion Suite Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening On January 29, 2019, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s hosted the The evening’s speeches concluded with Luis M. Isola, grand opening and ribbon cutting for the new Infusion MD, Director of Cancer Clinical Programs. “This facility Suite, located on the sixth floor of the Ambulatory Care has been the vision of Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, the Cancer Center. Program at Mount Sinai, and the leadership of the The grand opening was well attended by physicians institution and it really crystallizes the desire to bring and leadership across the Mount Sinai Health System world class cancer care to this community,” he remarked. including the Department of Hematology and Medical The Infusion Suite serves as an extension of the highly Oncology, Department of Surgery, and Department of regarded Tisch Cancer Institute at The Mount Sinai Medicine. Hospital, bringing Mount Sinai Cancer expertise to the Guy Courbois, Chief Operating Officer at Mount Sinai . The services offered in the Infusion St. Luke’s and David L. Reich, MD, President of The Suite include chemotherapy, intravenous medications for Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens, provided benign hematological conditions, therapeutic infusions opening remarks congratulating Mount Sinai St. Luke’s for rheumatological disorders, and blood transfusions, for developing a state-of-the-art suite to provide infusion with a focus on personalized, patient-centered care. The services to the Morningside Heights and West Harlem suite features comfortable infusion chairs, privacy bays, community for the first time in the hospital’s history. and one private infusion room. Councilman Mark Levine was also in attendance and “This facility is going to enable us to provide care to a honored the guests with a few words. Councilman Levine number of patients who, in the past, either had to have has been a strong supporter of the Infusion Suite project those infusions far away from home or in not as optimal and assisted in the procurement of a new PET/CT, which facilities as this one,” Dr. Isola stated. “We’re really, really will allow for advanced early cancer detection in patients. delighted and proud to open this unbelievable facility.”

(left to right) Madhuri Devabhaktuni, MD, David L Reich, MD, Guy Courbois, Councilman Mark Levine, Berthe Erisnor, Melissa Bellino, Luis M. Isola, MD, Khalid Dar, MD, and Burt Drayer, MD. 2 Staff Spotlight Deb Travis Meet Deb Travis, Trauma Program Manager at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s! Deb’s nominator says, “Deb has a HUGE job for a very busy service line that oversees patients during some of the most challenging times in their lives. She manages every day with a smile on her face and is always ready to lend a hand to help other people whenever she can. Deb is the epitome of all our values.” Started at St. Luke’s: 2009 Your most memorable patient interaction? There’s one patient in particular that stays in contact with me. This was a guy from when I first started as the Trauma Program Manager. He was coming to New York from Virginia to make a donation after 9/11. He was an elderly gentleman, about 72 years old, and he was badly injured when he got hit by a bus during his trip. His chest was basically smashed. When I met him, he had such a great spirit and he was very lovely. When he was going to get X-rays, he had a hard time getting up, so myself and a resident helped him. He was so grateful to us for being there for him. He felt so comfortable in our care. I still hear from him all the time. We also have “Trauma Survivor’s Day” in May and patients come back and it is truly a wonderful and miraculous thing to see these people that came in so badly damaged and to see them well or getting well with their families. Your favorite thing about working at St. Luke’s? I like the soul and spirit of St. Luke’s. It is something I felt strongly about when I first got here. It is a community hospital, it’s not a fancy hospital. It’s a place where people work together to get things done and even with all the changes that have happened since I got here, it still has the same soul and spirit within. An interesting or weird fact about yourself? I’ve always been drawn to the South. I grew up in Connecticut, but I knew I wanted to be down South, so I managed to find myself a guy from Tennessee and move to New Orleans, where I lived until Hurricane Katrina. I also love music. I’m a child of the 60s and I went to Woodstock! Your personal philosophy? The Golden Rule. “Do onto others as you would have them do unto you.” That pretty much gets you through everything. In New Orleans, we use to call it “Your Mama Rule.” It means to treat everyone how you would want your mama treated! Your favorite St. Luke’s value? Empathy, because if it is actually understood and people actually try to walk in the shoes of someone else, then you will reach them in some way. I think it is an honor to get to do that. We are let into people’s lives when they are in a crisis and that is something we should take as an honor and privilege and try to understand them. That goes not only for patients but for their families and our colleagues. So Empathy to me is a really good one! Would you like to nominate someone for the Staff Spotlight? Send us an email!

“I just wanted to say I appreciate everyone’s support in Trauma Program continuing to get us verified as a Level 2 Trauma Center,” Deb Travis, Trauma Program Manager, stated. “The American College of Surgeons official numbers aren’t out yet, but we most certainly will Re-verification get verified again. Thank you!” Recently, the Trauma Program had representatives Vision Zero from the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma visit Mount Sinai St. Luke’s to evaluate the As a Trauma Center, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s is interested program. in monitoring how our patients are injured and taking 3 steps to raise awareness, educate and advocate for measures to prevent injury. Nursing Notes In a neighborhood where 87% of people travel by foot, bicycle or transit, it is not surprising that almost one-third January 2019 Patient Experience of our patients are injured while walking or riding bicycles. Award These injuries can be life changing or even fatal. The good news is that these numbers have declined in recent At The Bridge meeting on February 7, Stephanie years due to changes related to the city’s adoption of Guareno and the 10 East Nursing Staff were presented “Vision Zero” principles. with the Patient Experience Award for having the highest score in the metric, “nurses check on your hourly” for You may have wondered January. Congratulations to Stephanie and her team! why the speed limit is 25 mph now or noticed that there are pedestrian islands in place of a lane of traffic. This is only a small part of Vision Zero. Vision Zero Action Plan is ’s foundation for ending traffic deaths and injuries on our streets. The key points of the plan are: ðð There is no acceptable level of death and injury on our streets. ðð Traffic deaths and injuries are not accidents but can be prevented. ðð The public should expect safe behavior on NYC streets and be a part of a culture change. Infection Prevention Vision Zero uses the same principles as other prevention practices using the three E’s: engineering, education December 2018 “CATCH” Hand and enforcement. Additionally, in New York City, there is a dedicated and determined collection of people from Hygiene Award Winners all over the city who advance the Vision Zero agenda as well as provide support to those injured on New York City streets and advocate for solutions. For example, Families for Safe Streets is a group of individuals who have lost loved ones or been injured in traffic crashes.

During our first Bridge meeting of 2019, the winners of the highest hand hygiene compliance for December 2018 were announced. The inpatient unit with the highest hand hygiene compliance rate was ACC 6 with a rate of 96%! The department with the highest compliance rate was Physical Therapy with a rate of 97%. 9 West followed closely behind ACC 6 and the Nursing The Trauma Program encourages you to support Vision Department followed closely behind Physical Therapy. Zero and Families for Safe Streets and be part of the Please join us in congratulating both of our winners and culture change for safe and walkable streets. stop by to see their CATCH trophies on display! 4 Spiritual Care Message A short thought from Spiritual Care this month... actually, it’s from Mr. Rogers! “At the center of the universe is a loving heart that continues to beat and that wants the best for every person. Anything we can do to help foster the intellect and spirit and emotional growth of our fellow human beings, that is our job. Those of us who have this particular vision must continue against all odds. Life Wethers performing a dissection in an anatomy class is for service.” – Fred Rogers (“Mr. Rogers”) at Yale Medical School in 1948. Source: The New York Times A blessing on every member of Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Doris L. Wethers, MD became the first African- staff for sharing Mr. Roger’s “particular vision.” American Attending Physician at St. Luke’s Hospital in Always remember that we chaplains are here for 1958. She was Chief of Pediatrics at St. Luke’s from 1974 everyone who walks through the doors of St. Luke’s, until 1 979. She established sickle cell programs in every whether patient, family member, or staff. If you need hospital in which she was a staff member. In 1979, Dr. Wethers became the principal investigator on a five-year some spiritual support, page us at 34596. NIH project to intensively study the effects of sickle cell Chaplains comfort people of all backgrounds and faiths by helping disease. The project made significant advances in the them use their spiritual and emotional wisdom to find meaning, understanding and possible treatments of the disease. courage, and hope. To learn more, please contact Meredith Lisagor. An early advocate for mandatory testing of all newborns for sickle cell anemia, in 1987, Dr. Wethers was the sitting chairwomen of an NIH panel that recommended routine From the Archives testing for all newborn babies, which has become a To join in with the celebration of Black History Month, world-wide standard of care. Dr. Wethers retired as the Archives would like to highlight the contributions of Director of St. Luke’s sickle cell program in 1999. We William J. Trent, Jr. and Doris L. Wethers, MD. recently learned of her passing on January 28, 2019. William Johnson Trent, Read an expanded history of these significant members Jr. (1910-1993) was the of our hospital community in forthcoming blog posts first African-American on the Mount Sinai Archives Blog. You can also find Dr. elected to the Board of Wethers’ obituary in The New York Times. Trustees of St. Luke’s For more history of Mount Sinai St. Luke’s or the Mount Sinai Hospital and was an active Health System, contact The Arthur H. Aufses, Jr. MD Archives. member from 1965 to 1977, serving four years as Board President (1970- 1974). Community Corner The son of an organizer Why is Morningside Heights such a great place to of the National Association for the Advancement of work? For some of us, access to parks at every corner Colored People (NAACP), Trent was also a civil rights is seconded only to the amazing lineup of free learning activist throughout his life. In 1944, along with Frederick experiences. Home to academic giants including D. Patterson, Tuskegee Institute president and educator, and Teachers College, Morningside and Mary McLeod Bethune, civil rights activist, he Heights residents and visitors are able to enjoy lectures founded and served as the Executive Director of the on a wide range of topics. United Negro College Fund. Trent remained in that You can find all of the upcoming lectures on the position until 1964, raising $78 million to support private Morningside Area Alliance website. One opportunity is Black colleges and universities. a series of ongoing talks presented in conjunction with 5

The Value of the Month New Leaders Konstantinos Margetis, Do you know our Values? We have 7 core values and they have recently Teamwork MD, PhD changed! Can you name them all? Safety We are pleased to announce the (Hint: They’re listed right here!) Empathy appointment of Konstantinos Margetis, To ensure that we are socializing and MD, PhD, as Chief of Neurosurgery at discussing our values, we are focusing Transparency Mount Sinai St. Luke’s. on one value each month. The value of Creativity Dr. Margetis, an Assistant Professor the month in March is Empathy! of Neurosurgery at the Icahn School At the beginning of March, you will Agility of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is a receive a new “Value of the Month” Optimism neurosurgeon with expert skills in spinal sheet. Please discuss this value at surgery. He has clinical and academic meetings, huddles, and via email. We encourage you to read and interest in minimally invasive and complex discuss the “Value of the Month” with your colleagues. spine surgery, traumatic brain injury, and We all play a role in creating an empathetic environment at Mount biomedical engineering. As Chief, he Sinai St. Luke’s. When we provide an empathy to our patients (and will be responsible for the clinical and our colleagues) we provide an exceptional patient experience. technical development and expansion of Mount Sinai St. Luke’s neurosurgical services. Dr. Margetis the Cathedral St. John the Divine’s “Value of Sanctuary” will retain his role as exhibit. Consider signing up for the Morningside Area Director of Spine at Alliance’s weekly events digest to hear about more Mount Sinai Union entertainment and educational opportunities in the Square. He previously neighborhood! served as Associate Director of Neurosurgery 10 Things You May Not Know About at Elmhurst Hospital Riverside Center. Riverside Park is the place to be whether you want Dr. Margetis is well to bask in the sun at the 79th Street Boat Basin, pay recognized in the field respects at and has been honored Upcoming Events Grant’s Tomb, or for compassion and do your best T. care. In 2018, he received in the Community Rex at Dinosaur citation for being an “Outstanding Individual for the Playground. Community and New York State” by the New York Noonday Concert State Assembly, and in 2017 he received the Doctor’s Wednesdays at 12:00 pm Did you know The Interchurch Center Day Award by New York City Health + Hospitals. In that the park’s addition to providing exceptional patient care, Dr. Greenmarket, Clothing, and history is as Margetis has been published in a variety of scholarly Composting varied as its Thursdays, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm journals, including the Journal of Neurosurgery, World btwn. 114th & 116th Streets charms? From Neurosurgery, Neuromodulation, and the Journal of yachts to goats Cathedral Vertical Tour Clinical Psychopharmacology. to cowboys, Mondays, 10:00 am - 11:00 am Dr. Margetis obtained his MD at the Aristotle University of Wednesdays 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm check out 10 Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine things you might Thessaloniki Medical School in Greece. He received his School of Music not know about PhD from the University of Athens, Greece, for research Weekday Concerts Riverside Park! related to the effects of intrathecal baclofen therapy on Daily, 3:00 pm, 4:00 pm, 7:30 pm the central nervous system. Dr. Margetis completed his Manhattan School of Music Read more here. Neurosurgery residency at the University of Athens, and 6

dual postgraduate fellowships in complex spine surgery at Cleveland Clinic, under Edward Benzel, MD, and in In the News pediatric neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medical College under Mark M. Souweidane, MD. He holds a Master’s An Expert Says to Follow These Certificate in Health Care Leadership from Cornell University. Dr. Margetis is a Fellow of the Royal College Two Simple Diet Tips If You Want to of Surgeons of England and the American College of Get Healthy and Lose Weight Surgeons. Tamara Pridgett, POPSUGAR Diet and exercise are two important factors when it Priya Chokshi, MD comes to weight loss. While they aren’t the only things We are pleased to that will affect how you lose weight, making changes in announce the appointment these two areas is a good place to start. of Priya Chokshi, MD, as Avigdor Dori Arad, PhD, RDN, CDE, Director of the Attending Physician in the Mount Sinai PhysioLab, gives two tips to improve Division of Rheumatology nutrition and weight loss. “What is certainly true is that at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s the most important factor in a healthy diet is what you and Mount Sinai West. Dr. eat. Meaning the quality of the food that you eat and how Chokshi commenced this much,” said Dr. Arad. role on January 16, 2019. Instead of eating processed, fatty foods, the first step Dr. Chokshi graduated from Dr. Arad recommends is eating unprocessed, clean, the Sophie Davis School sustainable food without added salt, sugar, fat, unhealthy of Biomedical Education preservatives, chemicals. Dr. Arad also suggests at City University of New focusing on the amount of food you’re consuming. York with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science. Read more on POPSUGAR. Following the completion of her undergraduate studies, she went on to obtain her medical degree from SUNY Downstate Medical Center. After graduating with her medical degree, Dr. Chokshi Patients Say... completed her residency in Internal Medicine from SUNY Downstate Medical Center. PressGaney Reviews Following her residency, “The service is excellent and the doctors and nurses are very skilled and she went on to complete a friendly. It makes feel almost at home.” – Patient treated on 10 East fellowship in Rheumatology from NYU Winthrop “Best hospital staff I have ever seen. From theCCU to Cath. Lab, University Hospital and the housekeeper, dietary staff—the best! ” – Patient treated on 6 East Nassau University Medical “I was on a liquid diet, I was pleasantly surprised how amazing the broth was.” Center. – Patient treated on 8 East Dr. Chokshi is Board “The nurse for my discharge was excellent. She was professional, Certified in Internal Medicine compassionate, and went out of her way for my comfort.” – Patient treated on and Rheumatology and 8 East is an active member of the American College Social Media Reviews of Rheumatology and “This is a great hospital. The doctors, the nurses, everyone was so kind. You’re the American College of taken care of so well.” – Roseann O. Physicians. “The best surgeons you can ask for—Dr. Nunez, Dr. Wedderburn, and Dr. Talbert.” – Anita R. 7 President’s Panels Zero Harm There is only one session left in the Zero Harm series! And, unfortunately, we had to change the date. Session 5 is now being held on Friday, March 29, 12:30pm-2:00pm. Please join us! Transformation We are also pleased to announce the new President’s Panel series on... Transformation! Mount Sinai St. Luke’s has been around for a long time. From its incorporation in 1850 to its merger with the Mount Sinai Health System in 2013, from its move to Morningside Heights in 1896 to its ongoing buildout in 2019, St. Luke’s has come a long way and made many changes. While we must acknowledge there is much work to be done, we should also be proud of where we’ve been at every step of our journey and appreciate where we are now. The purpose of this series is to hear more from our staff about their feelings on the history and the future of Mount Sinai St. Luke’s; to check in with everyone as we continue to go through transformation and change. We are all on this road together, so we want to make sure your voices are heard. Conversations from these sessions will inform how we continue to move forward at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, while trying to achieve greater transparency and foster ongoing optimism, keeping in line with our hospital’s values. We have sessions scheduled through June (with two more TBD through August)—we’d love to see you there! ððSession 1: Wednesday, April 17, 10am-11:30am ððSession 2: Thursday, May 16, 3pm-4:30pm ððSession 3 (Overnight): Thursday-Friday, June 27-28, 11pm-12:30am* If you are interested in participating, click here to fill out a quick Google form to register!

President’s Panels are open to all staff, students, and faculty at any level of the organization—all are welcome! Please contact Panel Facilitators Audrey Madison or Maxine Legall with any questions.

Does Breakfast Help You Does Cardio Boost Your Lose Weight and Boost Your Metabolism? Metabolism? Tamara Pridgett, POPSUGAR Tamara Pridgett, POPSUGAR There are a lot of myths about metabolism such as eating spicy food and drinking water to speed it up, but When it comes to breakfast, people think it’s either it’s not that simple. We do know that eating more protein, the most important meal of the day or that it isn’t that healthy food high in fat, and strength training are expert- important. Some people also believe breakfast is the approved ways to boost your metabolism. Avigdor Arad, key to boosting your metabolism. Dori Arad, PhD, PhD, RDN, Director of the Mount Sinai PhysioLab says, RDN, Director of the Mount Sinai PhysioLab weighs “When people use the term metabolism, they’re actually in and recommends doing cardio to help boost your referring to their metabolic rate, how much energy you metabolism since you will be expending more energy burn throughout the day,” said Dr. Arad. Everyone will and burning more calories per workout. Ultimately, “the have a different metabolic rate based on factors like age, amount of energy your body is going to burn by eating genetics, and activity level. If you produce energy well, breakfast is not going to be that significant.” the higher (or faster) your metabolism will be. Read more on POPSUGAR. Read more on POPSUGAR. 8 Announcements Summer 2019 Volunteer Program at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s The President’s Recognition Applications are now being accepted for the Summer Award—Call for Nominations 2019 Volunteer Programs at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s. Each year, a small number of volunteers are accepted for a summer only program that provides a meaningful learning opportunity for those interested in pursuing a career in medicine. In addition to volunteering within the hospital, we offer a speaker series and potential shadowing opportunity, once participants meet the minimum hours of service. The two programs are outlined below: ðð JuMP (Junior Medical Program) is a summer volunteer program for high school students (15 years old or older) that runs July 8 through August 30. Participants must commit to a minimum of 6 weeks during this 8 week period and the July 8th orientation is mandatory. Volunteers commit to Nominations are now being accepted for the April 100 hours of service and must work 13 – 18 hours per week to meet this requirement. Placements President’s Recognition Award! The deadline for are throughout the hospital including clerical work, nominations is Monday, March 11, 2019. patient ambassador, lobby assistance, or rounding. The purpose of the President’s Recognition Award ð Program is to recognize outstanding performance ð We also have a summer program geared towards by staff members. The employees who receive these college students. This program requires 120 hours awards have exemplified levels of work performance of service and participants must commit to at least and/or displayed outstanding achievement beneficial 10 weeks between May 15 and August 31 (flexibility to the hospital “above and beyond” routine job with start and finish). In addition to placements on responsibilities. our inpatient units and in our lobby, participants 18+ are able to work shifts in the Emergency Additionally, we select employees who have exemplified Department, Ambulatory Surgery, and Cardiology. the Mount Sinai Health System and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Values: Teamwork, Empathy, Transparency, Creativity, Optimism, Safety, and Agility. There are now two categories an employee can be nominated for. They include: 1. The President’s Service Award (Individual) and 2. The Special Recognition Certificate (Individual or Team). If you would like to nominate a fellow employee, please complete the nomination form (email Maxine Legall) and return it to Maria Vezina, CNO. Please note that all submitted nomination forms must also include two letters from additional employees, to support the nominee’s performance as it relates to the To apply, please visit our website. eligibility criteria. Applications are being accepted now through March 31, 2019. 9 Publicizing Your Research Discovery Upcoming As Mount Sinai Health System researchers develop discoveries and innovations that will improve the lives of patients, it is important that these breakthroughs be Events properly advanced and protected, for your benefit as well as Mount Sinai’s. Ash Wednesday Wednesday, March 6, 7:45am-12:15pm, Chapel Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP), the 9am-4:30pm on Patient Care Units commercialization team for the Health System, is proud Please note, ashes will not be administered after 4:30pm. to work with the Mount Sinai community to facilitate the Patient Safety Fair development and marketability of health care products Tuesday, March 12, 11am-2pm, Main Hospital Lobby and services that benefit patients and society. If you are planning to share a product with an external “The Upside” Newsletter March Deadline entity, please contact MSIP immediately. If you publicly Monday, March 18, 5pm Email Marketing & Communications with questions or disclose your invention without a confidentiality submissions. agreement, you may forfeit the right for patent protection in the future. President’s Panel: Zero Harm, Session 5 In cases of publicity or promotion, you must obtain Friday, March 29, 12:30pm-2pm, Lean Lab Email Audrey Madison or Maxine Legall with any questions. permission from both MSIP and the Mount Sinai Press Office to issue press releases, printed materials, videos, President’s Panel: Transformation, Session 1 and abstracts. Both offices should also be contacted Wednesday, April 17, 10am-11:30am, Lean Lab regarding journal publications, websites, press Email Audrey Madison or Maxine Legall with any questions. opportunities, conference and thesis presentations, posters, and awarded grant applications. When appropriate, MSIP will assist in marketing your discovery or innovation. Partnering with MSIP and the Mount Sinai Press Office will ensure that all communications are made in accordance with Health System policy. If you have any questions about the policy, please contact: ðð Cynthia Cleto, Associate Director, Marketing and Outreach, Mount Sinai Innovation Partners ðð Rebecca Linger, Director Branding, Mount Sinai Health System ðð Lucia Lee, Senior Media Director, Mount Sinai Health System

Contact Marketing & Communications For submissions to The Upside or questions and concerns, please send an email to the Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Marketing & Communications Department. Follow us on social media! @MountSinaiStLukes @MSStLukesNYC