Mount Sinai Medical Center

Very well run and professional. Met with Ob Dr Jacobs who was amazing. Friendly, compassionate and thorough.

I did not get the care expected in the emergency room. I found the nurses to be sloppy and inefficient. I made a mistake going there and will not go back again.

My husband have polycystic disease of kidney and liver, currently going on dialysis. We are from NJ, we started to see the transplant team and the head of nephrology at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ. If you are in dire need to refill your prescription, tough luck, voicemail is full, you will be redirected to another department after wasting your time being on hold, and will never get a call back or will never have the prescription called in, unless you personally show your face in their office, you won’t get a refill. The transplant team in the same hospital referred us to St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston NJ because my husband who previously had a kidney transplant about 16 yrs. ago have developed antibodies that may attack future transplants and they said that St. Barnabas can handle these cases better. At St. Barnabas Hospital, my husband was prepped for nephrectomy of both kidneys, but when his abdomen was opened up, they found out that his liver was so enlarged it reached the inguinal area, the surgeon, who is the director of the kidney transplant in St. Barnabas opted to remove one kidney and part of the lower edge of the liver to create some space for future kidney transplant. The surgeon said everything is ok, we just have to wait for a donor. Couple of weeks post op exam, the incision wound was healing but my husband had fevers, we asked the surgeon if he needed antibiotics and if we have to see a hepatologist, he said no. couple of weeks after, we were back in the ER, the incision wound swelled up and he was kept in the hospital for about 4 days to control infection, he developed cellulitis, had to be given antibiotics intravenously and then, we were told he now needs both kidney and liver transplant and we were referred to the liver specialist in the same hospital who, after prescribing a couple of diagnostic tests, referred us to Mount Sinai, stating that, St. Barnabas doesn’t have the facility to deal with my husband’s condition, we were referred to Dr. Leona Kim. I don’t remember having met a doctor like Dr. Kim, compassionate, very knowledgeable, very decisive, very attentive and was not the typical snotty, cold Jersey doctor. We thought my husband was a hopeless case, being kicked out of 2 hospitals in NJ, Dr Kim gave us hope. Not only that, all the staff, from front desks, to nurse/​medical assistants were very accomodating, very nice, polite and warm. Even the patient coordinators/​scheduler had phone manners, it was shocking to learn that people who works at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York have hearts, they don’t just do their jobs. We weren’t even home yet and we got a call already to schedule my husband’s next appointment for evaluation, what a great team and the woman who did the scheduling was very warm and nice, unfortunately we didn’t get her name. It is financially straining to go to New York City, but we are going to do our best to switch, they are excellent people, skilled, compassionate, warm and have hearts… you don’t see that too often these days.

So you’re pregnant! A huge congratulations to you. Now that you’ve made the first step towards creating a little one, the work of selecting your OBGYN begins.
«Maternal Fetal Medicine (High Risk Obstetrics) Services are a cornerstone of Mount Sinai Medical Center’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.» Be advised, they will not see patients who are NOT pregnant, as they must keep all visitations open for patients who are with child. They also give first availability to mothers with «High Risk» pregnancies.
If you have been labeled «high-​risk», you’re just like me and will be really excited about being pregnant, but really nervous at the same time. Among other things, many questions are bubbling inside of you:
— Who will be your doctor?
— What hospital will they deliver you in?
— What is the c-​section vs. normal delivery rate at that hospital?
— Are they affiliated with a hospital that you like?
— What delivery practices do they uphold?
— What delivery techniques will they consider should you desire some input?
— Will they even consider your input?
— What doctor will you get and will he/​she be delivering your baby?
— Who are the other doctors in your physician’s practice?
— Are they just as great?
— Will you trust your doctor with your life and your child’s?
Simply put: I loved my prenatal care at Mount Sinai Medical Center’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
After a few days of research on various practices in the Manhattan area, I finally zeroed-​in on Mount Sinai and, specifically, the work of Doctor Lauren Ferrara. I called and left a message for her and heard back within 24 hours… FROM HER. She scheduled me for a consultation immediately, and I fell in love with her bedside manner instantly.
Despite my limited knowledge of my high-​risk condition (bicornuate uterus /​septum /​breech), Doctor Ferrara made me feel not-​so-​dumb when I asked a lot of questions. She didn’t sugar coat the fact that they don’t allow (what I like to term) spa-​like-​deliveries. This is a high-​risk practice. Their goal, and mine, was to deliver my baby girl in good health and keep me alive. Seems kinda crazy-​extreme to say such a thing, but this is serious stuff.
I highly recommend anyone who has the idea that they can control their D-​Day to just throw her delivery-​rule-​book out the window as soon as she finds a doctor she trusts. Once I found Dr. Ferrara, tossing mine to the side was very easy to do. I trust her and her practice with my life and my baby’s…hopefully, that will be spelled babIES’, again soon.
PS: Cita, who painlessly drew my blood a few times a month (which I fear/​abhor), my typical sonographer, Dina, and all the other nurses /​sonographers are incredible. I actually looked forward to my appointments because I was surrounded by awesome/​funny women for one or two hours each visit; practically a spa!