Mount Sinai Leaders Receive Prestigious Awards During the American College of Emergency Physicians 2024 Scientific Assembly (ACEP24)

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Mount Sinai Leaders Receive Prestigious Awards During the American College of Emergency Physicians 2024 Scientific Assembly (ACEP24)

CEO of the Mount Sinai Health System and Chair of the Emergency Department for Mount Sinai Queens are honored for their contributions to health policy and diversity, inclusion, and health equity

Newswise — (October 1, 2024 – Las Vegas, NV) - Mount Sinai Health System’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Emergency Department Chair at Mount Sinai Queens have been recognized with top honors for their outstanding achievements at the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) 2024 Scientific Assembly in Las Vegas during a special ceremony on Monday, September 30.

Brendan G. Carr, MD, MS, FACEP, CEO, Professor and Kenneth L. Davis, MD, Distinguished Chair of the Mount Sinai Health System, received the Colin C. Rorrie, Jr, PhD Award for Excellence in Health Policy.

This award is an extraordinary award that acknowledges Dr. Carr’s outstanding service to the field of emergency medicine as a policy leader, innovator, advocate, and administrator, both nationally and locally.

Dr. Carr is a renowned emergency physician, health policy researcher, and health care leader whose work has focused on building regional systems for emergency care and developing innovative solutions to create improved and more accessible acute care across the country. He has been a strong advocate for increasing collaboration between the public and private sectors to build a more responsive and resilient emergency medical system in the United States. Dr. Carr is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has served as a special advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he developed the Regional Disaster Health Response System of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, collaborated with the National Academy of Medicine to strengthen health system emergency readiness, and worked with Indian Health Services to improve access to quality emergency care. Dr. Carr joined the Mount Sinai Health System as Chair of Emergency Medicine in 2020 and became CEO at the beginning of this year.

“The Rorrie Award is an enormous honor and an amazing capstone to the chapter of my career dedicated to improving emergency care by translating research into policy and practice. I’m forever grateful to my many mentors who created a specialty and built a network of high-quality emergency care across the nation and much of the world,” said Dr. Carr.

Ugo Ezenkwele, MD, MPH, Chair of Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai Queens and System Vice Chair of Emergency Medicine for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, received the Leon L. Haley, Jr. Award for Excellence in Diversity, Inclusion, and Health Equity.

This award recognizes his multifaceted contributions to academic emergency medicine, commitment to community engagement, and national advocacy for diversity. Beyond his clinical and emergency medicine leadership roles at Mount Sinai, Dr. Ezenkwele has been an influential figure in promoting diversity and inclusion in the field of emergency medicine. He currently serves as the Chair of the ACEP Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, playing a pivotal role in shaping national policies and advocating for those historically marginalized in medicine. He previously served as the Chair of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine Diversity Interest Group and Vice Chair for the Academy of Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Ezenkwele has authored and introduced resolutions with ACEP, addressing issues such as banning chokeholds and denouncing race-based science in emergency medicine. In New York City, he is heavily involved in underrepresented minority faculty and leadership development, unconscious bias training, and anti-racism and health disparities curriculum development for residencies at multiple hospitals within the Mount Sinai Health System. He’s also actively involved with community engagement programs and partnerships in underserved neighborhoods to provide medical education and help recruit future doctors to diversity the medical field.

“Having personally known Leon Haley, Jr., the award means so much to me as he was not only a mentor and friend, but an individual who firmly believed that ALL patients deserve the best care and that the workforce of tomorrow should be as diverse as the patients they serve,” says Dr. Ezenkwele. “I am truly honored to receive this award on the strengths of many people within the Mount Sinai community who celebrate diversity and inclusivity daily.”

Additionally Sophia Spadafore, MD, a health policy fellow and clinical instructor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Icahn Mount Sinai, received ACEP’s Council Horizon Award. This recognizes her outstanding service to the ACEP Council and participation in Council activities.

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.

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