Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai

Black and Hispanic patients with cancer appeared less likely than white patients to use telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an analysis of New York City health system data presented during ASCO Quality Care Symposium. Telemedicine is one modality that is useful to mitigate disruptions to patient care, like what we saw during the height of the #COVID19 pandemic in NYC... The question is, how accessible is this form of care to minority populations?

Without family to step in, "solo agers will be particularly vulnerable in the years ahead due to a rapidly shrinking paid caregiver workforce, limited alternatives to nursing homes for those with physical or cognitive impairments and the real risk of social isolation," says R. Sean Morrison, chair of the Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai Health System in New York.

During Judith Hunt’s more than 150-day hospital stay, she underwent hip surgery, heart surgery, abdominal surgery, and battled #COVID19 and sepsis. After making... four attempts at rehab, Judith victoriously walked out of the hospital. On Mount Sinai’s #RoadtoResilience podcast, Judith talks about facing death with grit and gallows humor, and the small moments that made her recovery possible. Listen now: https://fal.cn/3aKZP See more

"And given that COVID-19 is primarily transmitted person-to-person through respiratory droplets from sneezing or coughing, Fredrick Sherman, a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, offered The Atlantic a new and helpful tip to help curb the spread... if you find yourself in a high-risk scenario in which a someone sneezes or coughs near you, Immediately exhale to avoid inhaling droplets or aerosols. Purse your lips to make the exhaling last longer. Turn your head fully away from the person and begin walking.

Paul Levine is a survivor. The retired accountant beat leukemia a few years ago, he has long lived with diabetes, and he managed to make it through a tough case of COVID-19 in the spring. But after a week at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital, the 86-year-old New Yorker was desperate to go home. And go home he did, thanks to the services of Mount Sinai’s hospitalization-at-home program. Proponents of hospital at home now face the question of what the future holds. Much of the ...answer lies in another question: How willing are insurers to pay for it? We have negotiated contracts with five health insurances under their commercial, Medicare Advantage, and managed Medicaid plans, says Mount Sinai’s Linda DeCherrie, MD, clinical director of Mount Sinai’s program. But there is still no payment model from standard Medicare. They are very interested, though, and I think it’s coming. See more

Dr. Katherine Ornstein joins caregiving expert, Pamela D. Wilson, and host of The Caring Generation - September 30, 2020 to discuss research about spousal caregiving relationships and experiences later in life. *A must listen!*

"During the pandemic, palliative care has proven to be an essential part of our health care system’s response. Palliative care providers have enabled sick and frail people to shelter safely at home and have stepped in to support COVID-19positive patients and their clinicians in ICUs." The Commonwealth Fund explores how Mount Sinai and health systems across the nation leveraged their palliative care teams to maximize the number of patients and families cared for at the onset of and through the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Interested in a Geriatrics, Palliative Care, or Healthcare Leadership Fellowship? Learn more about the various programs we offer at Mount Sinai through the experiences of our program directors, current and former fellows, faculty, and member of our extensive interdisciplinary team! https://youtu.be/8fchBfp5D5U

While scientists are still developing a vaccine against COVID-19, there is a vaccine which can not only prevent the flu, but also reduce people’s chances of experiencing severe symptoms of the illness, and lower their risks of hospitalization and death... We definitely strongly think that routine vaccination during the flu season will be essential in the care of older adults, Dr. Vanessa Rodriquez, Attending Physician at the Martha Stewart Centers for Living at Mount Sinai.

"...Yet palliative care not only has been shown to repeatedly improve quality of life in patients with conditions such as cancer and heart failure, but also has been shown in some studies to help people live longer, perhaps through avoidance of potentially ineffective treatments, procedures and hospitalizations."

"There wasn't a cure for COVID, and we had only minimally effective treatments. But with palliative care we can always ensure human connection and relieve suffering. Now everyone understands it better than before," said Diane Meier, MD, director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC).

We are thrilled to see our dear colleagues and healthcare (s)heroes Cardinale Smith, MD and Jackie Greeves, NP honored by Ralph Lauren at the US Open Tennis Championships! We are so grateful for the incredible care, compassion, and expertise each of these women bring to our patients, their loved ones, and our teams.