As any Blue Ivy will tell you, the growing gap between the rich and poor is increasingly seen in the swanky wings of the city's hospitals. At Mount Sinai, if a patient staying in one of the $1,600-night suites wants something other than Jello or creamed corn, the staff obliges. "If they have a craving for lobster tails and we don't have them on the menu, we'll go out and get them," the hospital's hospitality manager tells the Times. At the "Greenberg 14 South" wing of NewYork-Presbyterian, patients paying $2,400 a night have butlers. No word on whether the suppositories are made with gold leaf. more ›

A Catholic nurse is suing Mount Sinai Medical Center for allegedly forcing her to assist in performing an abortion, despite having knowledge of her objections towards the procedure. Catherina Cenzon-DeCarlo's boss allegedly threatened her with charges "insubordination and patient abandonment," if she did not comply. The suit filed at the Brooklyn Supreme Court charges the hospital with violating the state policy that employees may decline to participate in the procedure. Cenzon-DeCarlo had previously said of the day, "It felt like a horror film unfolding...I felt violated and betrayed." more ›

"Don't bring expensive jewelry while giving birth" might be one lesson of this story from the Post: "An Upper West Side mom and Citigroup exec is suing to get back the baubles she left at Mount Sinai Medical Center's maternity ward. Alison Coen Searcy's suit accuses Marie Pugh, a since-fired nurse's aide, of grabbing $50,000 worth of bling on March 5, two days after Searcy's son was born." Searcy claims she left her "$22,000 diamond engagement ring, $8,800 wedding ring, $4,000 Cartier watch and $3,500 diamond ring on a windowsill before showering"—apparently Pugh was "allegedly captured on videotape entering the room about 15 minutes after the Searcys left." Coen Searcy wants the jewels or the money to cover them. more ›

Last night, around 6:30 p.m., a fire broke out in a mechanical room at Mount Sinai Hospital at Madison and East 98th Street. While the fire was quickly put out, the smoke was so heavy that patients were evacuated from the east wings to the west wings. WABC 7 spoke to the daughter of a patient waiting for a surgical procedure later this week: She said the alarm went off, "Then the smoke comes, The smell was strong, like something was burning," and minutes later "we couldn't breathe." Though a nurse initially told them to stay, they were eventually evacuated. The patient said, "I want to go back. I want to do my surgery." more ›

Last we checked in on Gwyneth Paltrow she was being wheeled into Mount Sinai Hospital for what ended up being a "gastrointestinal situation." Bouncing back quickly, she was at a UNICEF event last week where she dropped the bomb about a new bambino:

“People who have a lot also often feel like they have a lot to give. I have a good friend who always says that if you’re a person of means at all, then you have to adopt because there are so many kids in the world who need homes. more ›

The Jews of New York (Sunday, 8:00 p.m., WLIW; Thursday, 9:00 p.m., Thirteen) Ed Koch, Russ & Daughters Appetizers, Mount Sinai Hospital, and the creative team behind Fiddler on the Roof are profiled in this one hour overview of the history and impact of the Jewish community in New York. The show has some great New York City history content, although it seemed like it should have been a bit longer so they could get a bit more in. Still it is an interesting look at the contributions of New York’s Jewish community through the years. more ›

Us Magazine is reporting that Gwyneth Paltrow was admitted to New York's Mount Sinai Hospital yesterday afternoon. The reason for the hospitalization is not known, but could it have something to do with her history of crazy diets?

"She was slumped over in a wheelchair pushed by [husband] Chris Martin," an eyewitness tells Us. "She looked not well." more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on 160th St. and Sanford Ave. in Queens, a stabbing on 10th Ave. in Manhattan, and a homicide on Kelly and East 163rd Sts. in the Bronx.
• CUNY hired a legendary graffiti artist to teach a course on the subject, which is upsetting a lot of people.
• Ron Kuby is upset that Don Imus is back on the air. Mostly because he took his job to get back there.
• Two Maltese dogs were dog-napped outside of a Manhattan restaurant this weekend. The combined price of the two "designer dogs" was almost $10,000.
• Soldiers from Fort Drum--2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division--returned home from a 15-month tour in Iraq this week. 54 soldiers did not return home alive with them.
• A disturbing account of a Yonkers firefighter, who died choking on his own blood after a series of allegedly negligent missteps at Mount Sinai Hospital.
• Dozens of car windows were shattered over the evening by BB-gun fire in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
• A day-long symposium dedicated to the socio-political importance of the public toilet.

The relatively small health clinic that released the most widely quoted and alarming study about the adverse health impacts of exposure to the World Trade Center environment may have reached its conclusions with weak data and presented its findings in a questionable manner. The New York Times examined the work done at the Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, a health clinic associated with Mount Sinai Medical Center and that included only six full-time doctors at the time of the terrorist attacks. more ›

Skip Storch isn't crazy, although you might think he is considering the feat he accomplished Thursday. Storch, a 50 year-old marathon swimmer, swam around Manhattan three times, finishing the journey in a record 32 hours, 52 minutes, 30 seconds. Why would anyone want to jump into the waters around Manhattan? For Storch, he record-breaking swim was to bring awareness to sarcoidosis. The N.I.H. describes sarcoidosis as "an inflammation that produces tiny lumps of cells in various organs in your body," with the lumps that develop affecting organ function, typically the lungs and lymph nodes. more ›

Yesterday, East Harlem residents protested "greedy landlords" to raise concerns about gentrification. One resident, Otoniel Santiago, told amNew York that his $1,100 rent for his family's two-bedroom has zoomed up to $3,000 because of extra charges his landlord has added, "They said I had to pay or they would take legal action. I think they want us to get tired and move out, then they will bring in people who will pay $1,700 a month." more ›

Mayor Bloomberg headed to Washington D.C. to ask for more federal aid related to September 11 illnesses. The NY Times noted that Bloomberg was "surrounded at the hearing mostly by Democratic lawmakers from New York who have sought more aid for 9/11-related health problems" and "The two Republican senators present asked gentle questions."

Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican and a physician, said he did not doubt that there were “a lot of pulmonary problems associated with large particulate intake” at ground zero, but he asked the mayor, “Is there a point at which this stops in terms of a federal obligation?” more ›

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg announced plans to expand the city's response for World Trade Center-related health illnesses, after a panel found many things, such as many people didn't even know there's a WTC health program at Bellevue. Now the city plans to ask Washington D.C. for $150 million a year for programs; establishing new to keep everyone aware of what's going on; and, perhaps most importantly, reopening the Victim Compensation Fund and ending various legal disputes victims have been enduring. more ›

The NY Times has a fascinating article that gives more details about the death of police officer Cesar Borja. Borja, who died last month of pulmonary fibrosis, became a symbol of 9/11 responders afflicted with health issues. The media touted how Borja worked 16-hour shifts at Ground Zero, A few hours after his death, is son, Caesar Borja Jr., attended the State of the Union as Senator Hillary Clinton's guest and, later, the Borja family met with President Bush to discuss their situation. more ›

Ceasar Borja was invited by Senator Hillary Clinton attend last night's State of the Union address in order to highlight the need for more federal government aid to treatment September 11 workers. Borja's father, NYPD officer Ceasar, who volunteered at Ground Zero in 16 hour shifts, had been been waiting for a lung transplant. But a few hours before the State of the Union, 21 year old Borja found out his father had died while having dinner with other State of the Union guests. The Daily News reports what Borja said to his mother:

"He passed away right when I'm down here fighting for him. This is the most I've ever done for Dad. Mommy, you know I'm strong, Mom. You were with him, though, right? Good. That's all that matters to me. Comfortably and no pain... Dad always knew the man I could become, and I love him for that. Dad didn't go down without a fight, Mom. You know that."

In unsurprising but still headline-generating news, Senator Hillary Clinton has declared herself in the 2008 presidential race this morning. She posted a message on her website, HillaryClinton.com. Here is some of her statement:

I'm in. And I'm in to win. more ›

Other health buzz: more ›

The evidence keeps piling up. Yesterday, Mount Sinai released a study showing that about 70% of Ground Zero workers have respiratory issues. The study was conducted amongst 9,442 workers who were at Ground Zero in the days after September 11, with the majority of them having "new or worsened chronic breathing conditions since responding to the attacks." Mount Sinai Medical Center's Dr. Robin Herbert said, ""There should no longer be any doubt about the health effects of the World Trade Center. Our patients are sick and are going to need health monitoring and treatment for the rest of their lives." Further, the head of Mount Sinai's community and preventive medicine Philip Landrigan said, "What these people inhaled was extremely toxic. It was pulverized dust. It was like Drano. It penetrated deep in the lungs, deep in the sinus cavities." more ›

Ouch! On the one hand, the weather has gotten a smidge cooler (kinda) thanks to the incredible storms that have been passing overhead the past two days. On the other hand, lightning bolts from those same incredible storms have now put not one but two people in the hospital. more ›

The NYPD just put out a radio alert that Moses Teitelbaum, Grand Rebbe of the Satmar sect of Hasidism, died at Mount Sinai Hospital. Teitelbaum was 91, and had been suffering from spinal cancer. He had been the head of the sect since 1979. Thousands of people are expected to throng the streets of Williamsburg once this announcement gets out-- and things could turn violent, as Teitelbaum's two sons are feuding over who will succeed him, and their followers have gotten physical a number of times in the past year. more ›

through October 29: Aureole Fights Breast Cancer more ›