Montefiore Health System

Montefiore’s First Baby of the New Year is a Baby Girl from The Bronx!

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Montefiore Health System’s first baby of the New Year, born within the hospital’s network, was a baby girl, born in The Bronx in the early morning of Jan. 1, 2022.   Chimbusuto “Suto” Nwanko arrived in the world at 5:50 a.m.   The baby girl weighs 3.402kg/ 7lbs 8oz and is 18 inches long.   The baby’s mom, Uzoamaka  Nwanko, is from The Bronx.   Pictured are mother and baby, grandmother, Roseline Nwanko, together with nurses, Elizabeth Decaro, RN and Meghan Devivo, RN.   Meanwhile, New York City announced on Dec. 23 that the most popular names in the City are Emma


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Health Check: Take Care of Your Mental Health

By Dr. GIFTY AMPADU
Each year, usually around the start of the year, which is just around the corner, we are encouraged to meet with our primary care physician to assess our physical wellbeing. Not often prioritized as part of this routine is an effort to assess our psychological and emotional wellbeing, which is concerning, because poor mental health has an impact on physical wellbeing and quality of life.   Mental health problems continue to rise across the nation. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased isolation, anxiety, unresolved grief, stress, and financial and housing insecurities, all of which are predictors of a mental health crisis. Also at risk are people with chronic medical


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Bronx CB7 & Friends of Mosholu Parkland Tree-Lighting Event Brings Back Holiday Cheer

By SÍLE MOLONEY  
  There was plenty of holiday cheer to be had on Mosholu Parkway and Bainbridge Avenue on Tuesday, Dec. 7, as the annual, holiday, tree-lighting event, organized by Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) and Friends of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP), made a welcome return. Amid the ongoing pandemic, and prior to the COVID-19 vaccination roll-out, last year’s tree-lighting event was carried out discreetly, with no formal gathering.   This year, the event which took place on the Bedford Park/Norwood border, where masks were required, saw about 200 people gather in front of a large stage set-up specifically for the occasion. They


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Montefiore Appoints Dr. Sangita Jindal to Oversee Assisted Fertility Treatments

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Montefiore Health System announced on Wednesday, Dec. 8, that Dr. Sangita Jindal, who oversees the lab at Montefiore’s Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Health in Hartsdale, NY, has been named the president-elect of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART).    According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ART includes all fertility treatments in which either eggs or embryos are handled. In general, ART procedures involve surgically removing eggs from a woman’s ovaries, combining them with sperm in the laboratory, and returning them to the woman’s body or donating them to another woman. They do NOT include treatments in


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Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Study Shows Kids with Obesity/Diabetes at Higher Risk of COVID-19-Related Hospitalization

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Researchers at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine have released a new study which highlights that children with obesity or diabetes who contract SARS-CoV-2 infection are at a higher risk of being hospitalized than children who are not obese, or do not have diabetes. They say this is particularly concerning since reports have shown that rates of obesity and diabetes have increased among children during the pandemic.   Building on research conducted early in the pandemic, CHAM investigators analyzed 319 patients from 0 to 21 years of age with SARS-CoV-2 infection, of whom approximately one quarter were hospitalized


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Health Check: Take Steps to Prevent or Control Diabetes over the Holidays & Beyond

By CARLOS TEJEDA
While November marked National Diabetes Awareness Month, for many, it also marked the beginning of the holiday season, a time when many of us tend to eat less healthily and exercise less, two factors which can exacerbate diabetes. To counteract this, Montefiore continues to encourage Bronxites to learn ways to prevent, detect, and manage the condition.   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that in 2018, 34.2 million people had diabetes. Of this number, 7.3 million didn’t know they had the condition, or did not report having it. Over their lifetimes, U.S. adults have a 40 percent


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COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-Out Continues Across the City for 5 Through 11-Year-Olds

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Inoculation of the COVID-19 vaccine for 5 through 11-year-olds continued on Monday, Nov. 8, and Tuesday, Nov. 9, in the Bronx and across New York City. During a press conference on Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said over 4,500 children got vaccinated at public schools on Nov. 8 alone. As of Tuesday, Nov. 9, the mayor confirmed that about 25,000 kids aged 5 through 11 had been vaccinated since this age group was first authorized to get the shot. “It’s amazing,” the mayor said. “So, we see that parents are coming out, getting their kids vaccinated. We expect this to


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UPDATE Montefiore/Einstein Lead Drug Trial on COVID-19 Merck Antiviral Drug, Approved in the UK

By SÍLE MOLONEY
As part of a recently launched international phase 3 clinical trial, officials at Montefiore Health System and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine announced on Monday, Nov. 8, that they are jointly investigating whether the Merck antiviral pill, molnupiravir, approved last week in Britain for treating COVID-19, can prevent COVID-19 in unvaccinated individuals living with people who have contracted the disease.   Montefiore-Einstein is the first and only New York State site for such a trial, according to officials.   U.S. drug company, Merck, recently announced that people with mild or moderate cases of COVID-19 who took molnupiravir reduced their


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UPDATE First Wave of Kids 5-11 Get COVID-19 Shots at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore

By SÍLE MOLONEY & DAWN CLANCY
The first wave of children to receive the newly authorized COVID-19 vaccine had their shots administered at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in Norwood on Wednesday, Nov. 3.   The kids in question were 11-year-old twins, Jamie Onofrio Franceschini and Ryann Onofrio Franceschini, and Kenechi Acholonu (9), Amechi Acholonu (7), and Chizara Acholonu (5).   “Today is a huge relief,” said Chrissie Onofrio, the twins’ mom. “For the last 20 months, we have been doing everything we could to keep them safe. As adults, we have been able to be vaccinated, and have only seen vaccinated people.”   She added,


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