Mount Sinai Queens Wins Grant to Fund Volunteer Advocacy Program
Mount Sinai Queens Director of Community Outreach Ana M. Rodriguez wins $40,000 grant for volunteer advocacy for one year.
Mount Sinai Queens has recently been awarded a one-year United Hospital Fund Volunteerism Grant. The $40,000 grant will allow the hospital to train a core group of 10 to 12 volunteer patient advocates, who will provide advocacy, education, support and guidance to patients and caregivers, especially those who experience difficulty navigating the healthcare system.
Volunteer advocates will assist patients and caregivers during their hospital stay with a focus on understanding discharge plans, post-discharge referrals and the resources available to ensure that the patient and caregiver understand how to continue care as directed by the physician once they leave the hospital.
The volunteer advocates will work with the hospital's nurse managers, social workers and other healthcare providers to enhance communication between caregivers and hospital staff. Advocates will engage caregivers throughout the patient’s hospital stay and until their discharge.
Each volunteer patient advocate will be asked to work one or two four-hour shifts per week. The goal is to have one volunteer advocate each day from 10 am to 3 pm, and two advocates each day from 3 to 7 pm.
The United Hospital Fund is a health services research and philanthropic organization whose mission is to shape positive change in health care for the people of New York. The Fund advances policies and supports programs that promote high-quality, patient-centered healthcare services that are accessible to all. Annually, the Fund provides approximately $2 million in grants to examine merging issues and to stimulate innovative programs.
Mount Sinai Queens is a 235-bed community hospital located in Long Island City and serving the communities of western Queens and beyond. It was purchased by The Mount Sinai Hospital in June 1999 and has a medical staff of more than 400 physicians representing 36 medical and surgical specialties.
For more information, visit www.mshq.org.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across eight hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.
For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.