Department of OB/Gyn MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN Mount Sinai’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is remarkably different from the facility I entered as director in August 1993. At that time, the hospital was supporting an obstetrics unit last renovated in the 1950s to accommodate 1,500 deliveries per year, a figure that had more than doubled by the time I arrived at Sinai. Whereas care was high quality and attentive, the unit was old, shabby and crowded. In some cases women crowded three or four to a room. The new Goodman Family Maternal and Child Center offers a much different experience. Maternity patients, their families and friends now welcome our community’s newborns in 14 private labor/delivery/recovery rooms. Our new Mother/Baby Unit allows women and their families to recover and get to know their new babies in beautiful, homelike surroundings. This magnificent facility could not have been built without the dedication of many individuals. The Board of Directors of Mount Sinai Hospital, under the leadersip of Klaus Wisiol and Alan Inbinder, conducted the Campaign for Life, Mount Sinai’s most successful capital campaign. Special thanks must go to Susan Manilow, who chaired the capital campaign committee and after whom our labor and delivery unit is named. Mount Sinai’s employees and medical staff also gave generously to enable us to build our new unit. A quality-teaching program is essential in an institution seeking to deliver high-level patient care. Much time and energy went into improving our program- and our efforts paid off. Our affiliation with Rosalind Franklin University and the Chicago Medical School provides students and residents a strong clinical foundation, as well as the interpersonal skills critical to the physician-patient relationship. The success of our department rests not only on the quality of the faculty, but also on its financial stability. In recent years, we have worked hard to increase productivity while reducing or maintaining costs. One creative cost-saving initiative involves hiring sub-specialists, including those in gynecological oncology, reproductive endocrinology and perinatalogy as contracted part-time employees. This approach along with other productivity measures resulted in a net surplus for the medical group. For health-care institutions have incorporated the values of care for the underserved and the commitment to education and research that are the way of life at Sinai Health System. As we plan for the future, it remains foremost in our minds that we must continue to earn the support and respect of the communities we serve by continually striving to improve our response to health needs of all our patients. As we look forward in our new millennium of service to our diverse communities, I must acknowledge the ongoing support of Sinai administration, faculty, nurses and resident staff. Without the commitment of this remarkable team, none of our efforts would be possible. Josef Blankstein, M.D.