December 2, 2012 [PDF] - Mount Sinai Hospital

Care and Shelter From the Storm (continued from page 1)On Monday night, October 29, as HurricaneSandy made landfall and battered the Citywith sustained and violent winds and rain,Mount Sinai’s leaders coordinated with thoseat NYU Langone Medical Center to receivetransfer patients when NYU experienced apower outage. That night, thanks to strongand steady efforts of hundreds of volunteers,Mount Sinai took in 64 patients from NYUand one from Bellevue Hospital Center.Patients arrived—and were immediatelyand expertly cared for—in the areas ofadult critical care, including transplant;pediatric critical care; neonatal intensivecare; and obstetrics.That night, more than 600 volunteersrepresenting all areas of the MedicalCenter slept in shifts on campus, and onTuesday, Mount Sinai prepared to take inadditional patients.Throughout the crisis, Mount Sinai’s press,digital, and social media teams maintaineda seamless stream of updates for patients,concerned families and friends, the media,and the general public on the institution’swebsite, as well as on Facebook andTwitter. This is digital technology at itsvery best—when it is used to disseminatecritical information and highly anticipated,newsworthy updates to worriedconstituent groups.In the darkest hours of the storm, the spiritof family and community shone brightand bold at Mount Sinai, and knowing ourstaff, it will endure throughout the recoveryeffort. My pride, and that of every memberof the Boards of Trustees, for Mount Sinai’sphysicians, nurses, staff, students, andleaders cannot be overstated. It is duringcrises such as these, that we all witness andappreciate the outstanding institution thatwe all represent—and the truly extraordinaryindividuals who make it so.— Peter W. May, Chairman,Boards of Trustees,The Mount Sinai Medical CenterSwift Response and Selfless Dedication (continued from page 1)This successful effort began with high-levelstrategy meetings in the days prior to thestorm’s arrival, and commenced in full withthe activation of the Emergency CommandCenter at 6 pm on Sunday, October 28. This70-person unit—which meets and trainsregularly throughout the year—had a rangeof experts on duty during the storm and formore than a week as the recovery began.This was the fifth time in 10 years that thecenter was fully activated. In addition, morethan 1,000 physicians and nurses, as wellas a broad range of support staff—fromsecurity, IT, food service, and facilities—stayed overnight on campus to ensureadequate staffing for inpatient care and theEmergency Department.Because many of Mount Sinai’s subfloorsare below the water table, and in closeproximity to the Jacqueline Kennedy OnassisReservoir in Central Park, engineering staffand volunteer medical students securedthose areas with cinder blocks and specialinsulation. Engineers also made every effortto ensure that electrical power would not failus. The institution’s electrical infrastructureconsists of several separate power systemsthat support the campus and 13 back-upgenerators. This means that if Mount Sinaihad lost power, the back-up system wouldhave immediately mobilized. The generatorsand transfer equipment are testedmonthly in accordance with local andnational standards.Owing to this preparation—and to aroundthe-clockstaffing—Mount Sinai was able tocoordinate the transfer of more than 100patients, many in critical-care units, fromNYU Langone Medical Center and BellevueHospital Center when those institutionslost power.Hurricane Sandy was a natural disaster ofunprecedented size and scope for New YorkCity, and throughout the crisis, Mount Sinaihas been at its very best.— Kenneth L. Davis, MD,President and CEO,The Mount Sinai Medical CenterNovember 12 - 14, Stern AuditoriumBreakfast and Registration at 7:30 amFeatured Speakers:Ivan SeidenbergRetired Chairman and CEO, VerizonDavid ZaslavPresident and CEO,Discovery CommunicationsElazer R. EdelmanThomas D. and Virginia W. CabotProfessor, Health Sciences andTechnology (MIT)Jeffrey HammerbacherFounder and the Chief Scientist,Cloudera, and Faculty, Mount SinaiSchool of MedicineKenneth L. Davis, MDPresident and CEO,The Mount Sinai Medical CenterDennis S. Charney, MDAnne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean,Mount Sinai School of MedicineScott L. Friedman, MDFounding Dean for Therapeutic Discoveryand Chief of the Division of Liver Diseasesat Mount Sinai School of MedicineInside Mount Sinai2012 Marketing & CommunicationsCarrie Gottlieb, EditorMarilyn Balamaci, EditorSubmissionsBox 1475inside@mssm.eduVisit Inside on the Webwww.mountsinai.org/insideTo find out what’s happeningright now, follow Mount Sinaion Twitter @MountSinaiNYCVisit us on Facebookfacebook.com/mountsinainyc