Montefiore is proud to be designated a 2017 Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign. The distinction was awarded in recognition of our commitment to provide equitable, knowledgeable, sensitive and welcoming healthcare to members of our LGBTQ community and their families, and provide a safe and inclusive workplace for our associates.

Montefiore participated in the Human Rights Campaign’s Health Equality Index (HEI) survey, which evaluates hospitals and healthcare facilities across the U.S. The Human Rights Campaign developed the HEI more than a decade ago to meet the urgent need of LGBTQ Americans, and help close gaps in ensuring equal and inclusive care to patients and their families.

The HEI Leader designation reflects Montefiore’s commitment to our values of humanity, innovation, teamwork, diversity and equity.

Learn more about our services at www.montefiore.org/LGBTQcare.

To read the full HEI report, please visit www.hrc.org/hei.

Music therapists from the Healing Arts Program deliver services to patients at Moses.

Montefiore’s Healing Arts Program has shown that music therapy has a positive impact on patient health and well-being. In 2014, the Healing Arts Program conducted a pilot bedside music therapy feasibility study on four units at Moses: Palliative Care, Transplant, the Medical Intensive Care Unit and the Klau 4 medical/surgical unit. Using quantitative and qualitative indicators, the project evaluated the integration of music therapy on the units, the effect on patients’ self-reported pain and anxiety, and interest among patients and their family members in receiving the service. Results revealed statistically significant decreases in levels of pain and anxiety reported by patients following their music therapy sessions, as well as high levels of interest and integration. Based on these outcomes, Palliative Care, Transplant and Critical Care continue to offer bedside music therapy, with continued excellent feedback from patients and families.

Randi Kaplan, LMSW, Director, Caregiver Support Center (third from left), and Lynette Olmo, Program Assistant (fourth from left), with Center volunteers.

"THE CSC HAS BECOME A VITAL, INTEGRAL PART OF THE FAMILY−CENTERED CARE WE PROVIDE AT MONTEFIORE."

—Paula Marcus, MD

On April 1, staff and visitors gathered to celebrate the sixth anniversary of Montefiore’s Arthur D. Emil Caregiver Support Center (CSC) at the Moses Campus. It is New York City’s first and only caregiver support center within an academic medical center.

Since its inception, over 10,000 caregivers have received support during the course of their loved ones’ hospitalizations. The CSC currently has locations on the Moses and Einstein campuses, with a third center opening at the Wakefield Campus this summer.

The Center helps families and friends manage the emotional stress and inherent burden of caring for a seriously ill loved one. It provides a safe, soothing, non-judgmental refuge for the caregiver. One caregiver recently shared her gratitude for the staff’s support. “I have to say, thinking about everything as painful as it was that last night was made bearable because of your support,” she says.

The team is available to offer a listening ear, in addition to providing practical assistance in navigating a complex system. “The CSC has become a vital, integral part of the family-centered care we provide at Montefiore,” says Paula Marcus, MD, Director, Psychosocial Service, Montefiore Einstein Center for Transplantation, and Associate Professor, Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Einstein.

Other Montefiore clinicians are immensely appreciative of the CSC’s work. “We are so blessed to have the CSC! I’m so grateful for all the help and love the CSC staff members give every patient and family that crosses their path,” says Sarah Bellemare, MD, Attending Physician, Transplant Surgery, Montefiore, and Assistant Professor, Surgery, Einstein.

William A. Jakobleff, MD, Attending Physician, Cardiothoracic Surgeon, and Assistant Professor, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, says, “Thank you so much for the constant support you lend to the families. Very much appreciated.”

Discover more by visiting www.montefiore.org/caregiversupport.