‘Behind the Mask’ Fundraising Campaign Documents Heroic Efforts of Front-line Staff

Mount Sinai South Nassau corporate partners sponsor fundraising effort featured on News 12, 20 other major networks

Who are the front-line heroes “Behind the Mask”? Mount Sinai South Nassau has unveiled never-before-seen video footage of front-line staff sharing their compelling stories as they answered the call of duty to serve patients while juggling the challenges of personal and professional life throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mount Sinai South Nassau worked in collaboration with Altice, with award-winning photojournalist and videographer David Handschuh and the production company Spot On to produce a series of 30- and 60-second video vignettes titled ‘Behind the Mask.’ This footage of health care heroes and their patients sharing their insights and emotions during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic is now airing on News 12, on 20 other major stations and networks, and on the hospital’s social media channels. The hospital’s External Affairs staff conducted interviews with more than a dozen front-line employees as part of an oral history project. A four-minute mini documentary is also available for viewing.

“The ‘Behind the Mask’ campaign salutes Mount Sinai South Nassau’s entire team of front-line workers and provides our region with an inside look at their valiant efforts to provide the care that our patients desperately needed during this extraordinary time,” said Adhi Sharma, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President for Clinical and Professional Affairs. “Our staff rose to the occasion to serve the community while putting themselves and their families at risk. This unique project documents their professional and personal struggles.”

Donations raised from the campaign will support Mount Sinai South Nassau’s COVID-19 Relief Fund. The campaign was sponsored by hospital supporters including:

• Gold Sponsors: Mount Sinai South Nassau Medical Staff; and Dover Group restaurants Coral House and Peter’s Clam Bar
• Silver Sponsors: Bartlett, LLP; Bethpage Federal Credit Union; The Central Orthopedic Group; and Signature Bank
• Bronze Sponsor: Squad Security
• Magenta Sponsors: Long Beach Nursing and Rehabilitation Center; South Shore Rehabilitation & Nursing Center; Breitstone & Co, Inc.; SeniorCare; Colon Rectal Surgery Specialists; Lewis Johs Avallone Aviles, LLP; ToneyKorf Partners, LLC; The Grand Pavilion for Rehabilitation and Nursing at Rockville Centre; Ellen & George Schieren
  

Located in Oceanside, Mount Sinai South Nassau serves the communities of the South Shore of Long Island, one of the areas in New York hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospital boosted its capacity to more than 500 beds to care for the seriously ill patients who streamed into its Emergency Department and inpatient areas.

The full spectrum of the hospital’s clinical and administrative departments was completely overhauled to execute delivery of specialized, critical medical care tailored specifically to the needs of more than 1,380 COVID-19-positive patients it admitted and treated with serious and life-threatening illness.

“Behind the Mask” television spots began  airing July 6th and will continue through July26th during morning, afternoon, and evening prime time hour commercial breaks on News12, as well as Bravo, TNT, TBS, USA, History Channel, Food Network, Nickelodeon, FX, ESPN, Cartoon Network, A&E, Comedy Central, CNN, Discovery, E, Fox News, HGTV, MSNBC, TLC and TVLand.

The spots contain a call to action for those wishing to make a donation to support the front-line. To learn more about “Behind the Mask” or to make a donation, visit www.southnassau.org/donate. You may also text “NURSES” to 80100 to make a $25 donation. The spots will also be available on the hospital’s YouTube channel and all social media channels @MountSinaiSouthNassau.

About Mount Sinai South Nassau
The Long Island flagship hospital of the Mount Sinai Health System, Mount Sinai South Nassau is designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for outstanding nursing care. Mount Sinai South Nassau is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 455 beds, more than 900 physicians and 3,500 employees. Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health and emergency services and operates the only Trauma Center on the South Shore of Nassau County, along with Long Island’s only free-standing Emergency Department in Long Beach.

In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, Mount Sinai South Nassau provides emergency and elective angioplasty, and offers Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery technologies. Mount Sinai South Nassau operates the only Trauma Center on the South Shore of Nassau County verified by the American College of Surgeons as well as Long Island’s only free-standing, 9-1-1 receiving Emergency Department in Long Beach. Mount Sinai South Nassau also is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons; is an accredited center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality Improvement Program; and an Infectious Diseases Society of America Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence.  For more information, go to www.mountsinai.org/southnassau.