March 18, 2012 [PDF] - Mount Sinai Hospital

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Advancing Research Into Cancer Vaccines (continued from page 1)The researchers demonstrated that protection from tumor growthresulted from the ability of flagellin to simultaneously engage twoinnate immune receptors,Toll-like receptor 5(TLR5), and the Nod-likereceptors NLRC4/NAIP5(neuronal apoptosisinhibitor protein).NLR engagement wascritical for mountinglasting anticancer T cellimmune responses. Aslong as neither TLR5nor NLRC4/NAIP5 wasSalmonella typhimuriumcompromised, the micewere able to fight off tumor development. But notably, the micewere not protected after vaccination with irradiated tumor cellsin combination with a co-administered recombinant flagellin. Thestudy’s authors say the physical presence of flagellin within thetumor cells was critical for protection.“Manipulating cancer cells to express flagellin allows a direct hit bythe immune system,” says Dr. Blander. “This precludes the need toidentify tumor-specific antigens to be used in vaccination.”According to Dr. Blander, “The next step in the research is makingsure we won’t cause an autoimmune response. We want to see ifthe vaccine preferentially triggers a response to proteins specificto cancer cells and not also to those shared with healthy cells. Wehave not seen evidence of autoimmunity, but we will need to do adetailed study.”First Geriatric Emergency Department in New York City (continued from page 1)husband’s bedside. “This really is an oasis,”she said, observing the department’s calmatmosphere. On an average day, the GeriatricED receives between 25 and 30 patients.Kevin M. Baumlin, MD, Associate Professorand Vice Chair, Director of ClinicalOperations, Department of EmergencyMedicine, spearheaded the developmentof Mount Sinai’s Geriatric ED, which wasmodeled after one that opened in 2009at St. Joseph’s Healthcare System inPaterson, New Jersey.Providing patients with a stress-freeexperience is one of the Geriatric ED’sgoals, says Dr. Baumlin. A longer-termgoal is improving the transition of care forpatients so they have fewer readmissions tothe emergency room when they’re back athome. Elderly patients often require moreresources from emergency room nurses andphysicians due to their complicated arrayof health care needs. Mount Sinai’s newdepartment is set up to handle that.Patients are assessed by a team of speciallytrained geriatric physicians, nurses, andsocial workers. Volunteers are often onhand to assist, as well. Specialists evaluatethe drugs patients are taking to determinethe potential for any harmful interactions,Administrators and staff gathered for the ribbon cutting. FRONT ROW, FROM LEFT: Gallane Abraham,MD, Clinical Instructor, Department of Emergency Medicine, and Assistant Director, GeriatricEmergency Department; Cynthia Levy, Director, Department of Volunteer Services; Andy S. Jagoda,MD, Professor and Chair of Emergency Medicine, and Director of the Emergency Medicine Department;Kevin M. Baumlin, MD; Carol Porter, DNP, Chief Nursing Officer/Senior Vice President, The MountSinai Medical Center; Martine Sanon, MD, Assistant Professor, Brookdale Department of Geriatricsand Palliative Medicine; Denise Nassisi, MD, Director, Emergency Department Administration, ClinicalTrials and Geriatric Emergency Department, Department of Emergency Medicine; and Audrey Chun,MD, Associate Professor, Director, Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai, Vice Chair, ClinicalPrograms, Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine; BACK ROW, FROM LEFT:Maureen Van Benthuysen, Senior Vice President, Hospital Administration; Suzanne Young-Mercer, MBA,Administrative Manager, Emergency Medicine; and Dwayne Raymond, Clinical Nurse Managerand whether patients would benefit fromwellness programs offered on an outpatientbasis by The Martha Stewart Center forLiving at Mount Sinai. The specialists alsodetermine whether patients will requirean at-home assessment to prevent falls orinjuries once they return home.“We have created a safer, better place wherewe can provide a team approach to caringfor the health and social problems that olderadults have,” says Dr. Baumlin. He points tovarious studies that have found the elderlyhave fewer emergency room readmissionsafter they are cared for in a facility likeMount Sinai’s.FROM LEFT: Andy S. Jagoda, MD; Kevin M. Baumlin, MD; Rosanne M. Leipzig, MD, Professor ofGeriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Clinical Geriatrics, and Health Evidence and Policy; and Ira S.Nash, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Medical AffairsMount Sinai’s Brookdale Department ofGeriatrics and Palliative Medicine has longbeen a pioneer in clinical care, researchand education. For the last two years, theprogram has been ranked No. 1 in the nationby U.S. News & World Report.
Clinical Leaders Are Committed to Providing Quality CareAt a recent quality assessment workshopfor The Mount Sinai Medical Center’s clinicalleaders, Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President andChief Executive Officer, told departmentchairs and chiefs that maintaining a highlevel of patient care “is not just the rightthing to do—it is imperative for our future.”The Quality and Patient Safety Workshop forClinical Leadership was held on January 24understanding what needs to be done,about asserting leadership in yourown clinical domains, about acceptingaccountability for the care that your clinicalservices provide, and about providingbetter care.”Ira S. Nash, MD, Chief Medical Officer andSenior Vice President for Medical Affairs,organized the half-day workshop withWe have entered a new age of accountability and transparencyfor the quality of care we provide.— Kenneth L. Davis, MDimprovement capabilities within clinicaldepartments; managing adverse events fortransformation; and learning from theseevents. The goal of the workshop was toengage and educate clinical leaders on keyquality assessment and improvement issues,and have them identify targets and timelinesfor achieving them.“We stimulated a lot of thinking and,hopefully, action,” says Dr. Nash. “Ourintention was to provide the tools for peopleto implement improvements in quality.” Eachdepartment head was asked to consider badoutcomes that could occur, and provide aplan of action that would keep the situationsfrom arising in the first place.at the New York Academy of Medicine,and was run in conjunction with thenonprofit Institute for HealthcareImprovement (IHI). Dr. Davis told the 80 orso physicians and staff in attendance: “Wehave entered a new age of accountabilityand transparency for the quality ofcare we provide. Today has to be aboutthe IHI, which sent three experts to leadthe sessions: Katharine Luther, RN, VicePresident, Hospital Portfolio Planning andAdministration; Vinod K. Sahney, PhD, aSenior Fellow; and Stephen Swensen, MD,Director of Quality at the Mayo Clinic.The sessions included planning for patientsafety and clinical quality; buildingAt the workshop, Dr. Davis told theattendees, “Today can’t be about listeningto the experts and going back to businessas usual. Business as usual will not allowMount Sinai to succeed in the competitivenational and local landscape. I look forwardto hearing back from each of you about howyou will make Mount Sinai a better, saferplace for our patients.”Internal Medicine Associates Celebrates Thirtieth YearInternal Medicine Associates (IMA) marked its thirtieth anniversaryon Wednesday, February 8, with a celebration that broughttogether faculty, staff, and patients. The outpatient clinic wasestablished in 1982 to serve the East Harlem Community. Sincethen, it has offered patients comprehensive and consistent care—regardless of their ability to pay. “This is a very important part ofthe DNA of Mount Sinai,” said Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President andChief Executive Officer of The Mount Sinai Medical Center. “We area socially conscious institution that believes in this community andthe right to health care for everybody.”Approximately 150 guests attended the event—among them,94-year-old Mary Hill, one of the original patients at IMA. “It’s nota pleasure being sick, everybody knows that, but it is good whenyou can come to a place, and people greet you with a smile, andtreat you like they have concern for you. And, that’s how I’ve beentreated since I’ve been a patient here,” she said.FROM LEFT: John S. Winkleman, Trustee and Chair, CommunityAffairs Committee of the Boards of Trustees, The Mount SinaiMedical Center; Kathleen Albohm, RN, NP, an original and currentIMA staff member; Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel EhrenkranzDean, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Executive Vice Presidentfor Academic Affairs, The Mount Sinai Medical Center; KennethL. Davis, MD; Alex Federman, MD, MPH, Chief, Division of GeneralInternal Medicine, Department of Medicine; Mary Hill; David Thomas,MD, Vice Chair, Department of Medicine, and Director of AmbulatoryCare and Training; Richard Bernstein, MD, Chief Medical Officer,Visiting Nurse Service, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine(General Internal Medicine), Preventive Medicine, and Geriatrics andPalliative Care, and one of the original IMA physicians; Maureen VanBenthuysen, Senior Vice President, Hospital Administration, TheMount Sinai Hospital; and Diana Gonzalez, Medical Assistant, anoriginal and current IMA staff member
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