Every day our people at Sinai Health are doing extraordinary things. Captured Caring is a series featuring submissions from our people to provide you with inspiration and encouragement as we care for patients and each other. Have your own story or photo to share? Submit it here.
“The new and temporary ICU located in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) space is a prime example of the amazing teamwork and collaboration across multiple departments at Sinai Health to pivot in response to the third wave of the pandemic. Our multidisciplinary care team shown here in daily rounds includes anesthesiology, internal medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and respiratory therapy. And many thanks to those behind the scenes!”
Submitted by: Dr. Nam Le, Site Chief, Anesthesia, Mount Sinai
“With Mother’s Day coming up, I wanted to share this story from Salima Dharani, a screener at Mount Sinai who made connection with a patient during a recent shift. Every day screeners support patients and visitors coming to the hospital. This story is one example of the kindness and humanity the teams demonstrate in their work. Salima shares:
It was a busy day and it seemed like we were screening like robots when I saw a couple coming in. As usual I started to ask them the time of their appointment. The woman said it was at 1 p.m. but they were early and needed to eat something before the appointment, asking if there was a place nearby where she could go and get food. We suggested some places nearby as the Food Hall is currently not open for patients and visitors.
My colleague Ramiro suggested that I ask the clinic if the doctor could see them early so that they would not have to wait too long. Since the clinic was busy, the doctor was only able to see them at their scheduled time. We began to talk, getting to know them better in the meantime. The woman was in her 80s and her husband was in his 90s. This woman reminded me of my grandmother who I lost one year ago. It felt like I was talking to my grandma. The way that she was sharing her words of wisdom, my grandma used to do the same with me and it used to be our time. It was like a grandmother and granddaughter conversation. I went for my lunch break and I met them again afterwards and picked up the conversation again. She continued to tell me about her life. Then she started talking about the meaning of ‘Mother.’ I sat down one chair apart from her to maintain physical distance to listen. I then pulled out a piece of paper and started writing what she was saying. It went as follows: ‘M’ is for the million things she gave me. ‘O,’ I owe her all I own. ‘T,’ the tears she shed to save me. ‘H,’ her heart of purest gold. ‘E’ is everything she’s done to help me. ‘R’ and right she’ll always be. Put them altogether they spell Mother. The word that means the world to me.”
Submitted by: Melissa Peck, Manager Screening, Patient Registration and Admitting, Mount Sinai, on behalf of Salima Dharani, Ramiro Rodriguez Puig, Saada Abdosh, and Dr. Swati Dixit
“May is Speech and Hearing Month, an opportunity to think about how many of us take our ability to communicate for granted, but the ability to speak, hear and be heard is much more essential to our everyday lives than most of us realize, especially during these recent times in isolation. For those who have difficulty communicating, everyday interactions can pose significant challenges. A communication disorder may prevent an individual from performing well at work, asking for help, hearing instructions at school or even saying ‘I love you’. That is what the Speech-Language Pathology team here at Bridgepoint are dedicated to helping our patients overcome, every day.”
Submitted by: Krista Caulfield, Speech Language Pathologist, and the Bridgepoint Speech-Language Pathology team
“Speech and Hearing Month raises awareness of the role of Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) in health care. An SLP is a master’s-trained professional who works to prevent, assess and treat speech and language (communication) disorders, cognitive communication disorders, stuttering and swallowing and voice disorders. At Mount Sinai we offer inpatient services including swallowing assessments, diet consistency recommendations, communication assessments and treatment as well as staff education. Additionally we assist with head and neck oncology patients.
Throughout the past 14 months of COVID-19 we have seen an evolving patient population here at Mount Sinai. This has included younger patients and pregnant patients that have been intubated or had significant complications as a result of the virus. Consequently, some have experienced swallowing disorders and communication challenges that we as SLPs have assisted and contributed to their rehabilitation and recovery.”
Submitted by: Mitzi Shapera, Speech-Language Pathologist, and the Mount Sinai Speech-Language Pathology team
At Sinai Health, physiotherapists are part of a very strong, collaborative rehab team. We work with patients along the full continuum of care, including the Emergency Department, the ICU, the Mother and Baby Unit and through to referring them on to colleagues in the community or at Bridgepoint. During the uniquely challenging year that we have all had, it has been rewarding to be able to help optimize the function of our patients while meeting the changing needs of our organization and health care system.”
Submitted by: Nancy Ng and Natasha Bhesania, Physiotherapists, and the Mount Sinai Physiotherapy team