For the eighth year, Mount Sinai providers received the Cullman Award for Excellence in Physician Communication for demonstrating exceptional communication in clinical practice. Seventy-three providers were honored with the award, which is based entirely on patient feedback and comments, at the 2023 Cullman Award Ceremony on November 2. Awardees included 40 previous recipients and 18 who won the award three or more years.
“Excellence in provider communication is not just a skill; it is a commitment to humanity,” said Kelly Cassano, DO, Chief Executive Officer, Mount Sinai Doctors Faculty Practice; Senior Vice President for Ambulatory Operations, Mount Sinai Health System; Dean for Clinical Affairs, and Associate Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, during a speech at the ceremony. “It is about making a difference in the lives of those we serve and ensuring they feel heard, valued, and cared for during their most vulnerable moment.”
The recipients were ranked in the top 5 percent nationally, out of more than 97,000 providers nationwide, in provider communication for 2022, as measured by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems patient experience survey. For the third year in a row, patients expressed their appreciation and gratitude for their providers in a video. A few of the many thankful Mount Sinai patient testimonies include:
2023 Cullman Award recipients
“I just trust the institution to have the right providers, the best providers. As patients or as caregivers of patients, we can just relax and trust that we have the right partner in delivering the best care.”
“There are people who really worry about being diabetic, but she watches over me very, very carefully. And she’s been so much a part of my family for so long, she knows my mother, because my mother would always come with my father to his doctor’s appointment. Even now I see her every single month, and the first thing she says to me is, ‘How’s Mom? How’s Mom doing?’”
“I asked him a lot of questions, and he took the time to answer every single one of them, like I was the only patient in his schedule that day. It was that kind of kindness that I had been searching for—someone to hear me, someone to listen to me, and someone to say, ‘Hey, you know what, there is something, and we can fix it, and life will get better.’”
The 2023 Cullman Award ceremony was hosted by Erica Rubinstein, Vice President of Patient Experience for the Mount Sinai Health System, and the Joseph F. Cullman Jr. Institute for Patient Experience; and Edgar Benitez, Associate Director of Training and Organizational Development, Mount Sinai Health System.
The Joseph F. Cullman Jr. Institute for Patient Experience works in partnership with the Boards of Trustees, hospital leadership, providers, nurses, trainees, clinicians from other disciplines, and all staff members, as well as volunteers and members of the community. It plays a pivotal role in Mount Sinai’s journey toward excellence in patient care and its mission to promote a culture of patient-centered care. The Institute is also dedicated to uncovering methods and resources necessary to not only enhance the quality of care but also to ensure that it is imbued with empathy and compassion.
“The Institute recognizes that everyone makes a unique contribution to the patient’s experience and takes a pioneering role in the world of health care,” Ms. Rubinstein said.
Patients express gratitude to the Cullman Award recipients who provided their care.
In our patients’ own words
“I must highly state that Dr. Mark Goldman is one of the best doctors I have ever met. I myself have been in the medical field for more than 40 years and have never met a more caring doctor. He is very professional and will go out of his way to help with any problems. He also takes care of my very ill husband and has been above and beyond the best doctor. My entire family and many friends have been recommended to Dr. Goldman and all come back saying they love him. He is wonderful and Mount Sinai is lucky to have him.”
−Mount Sinai patient