Partner Profile: The Mount Sinai Medical Center

Published by Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation on

Finker-Frenkel Energy Center

The Mount Sinai Medical Center was established in 1949 by a group of philanthropists hoping to make medical care accessible to everyone, regardless of race or socioeconomic status. Now the largest private, independent, not-for-profit teaching hospital in the state of Florida, Mount Sinai is dedicated to providing high-quality care to its diverse community, enhanced through teaching, research, charity care and financial responsibility. The Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation has long been a philanthropic partner of the hospital, and its donations contributed to the Finker-Frenkel Energy Center on the Mount Sinai Campus.

Access to power is essential to nearly every aspect of modern life, but in a hospital, a steady flow of electricity means a lot more than just keeping the lights on – it’s quite literally a matter of life and death. There are a number of ways hospital patients rely on power to stay alive; Ventilators, heart-rate monitors, MRI machines and other high-tech medical equipment all require electricity in order to function, and even routine hospital operations such as security systems, fire alarms and environmental controls (like heating and air conditioning) won’t work without power.

When hospital power systems fail, tragedy can strike. When this failure occurs during or after a natural disaster, the impact can be devastating. Just look at what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina: An estimated 215 patients lost their lives as result of power failures in hospitals and long-term care centers around the city, and thousands more had to be evacuated.

As a hospital situated in the heart of Miami’s hurricane territory, Mount Sinai Medical Center is hyper-vigilant about keeping its patients safe during severe weather events. The newly-minted Finker-Frenkel Energy Center can withstand the force of a Category 5 hurricane. It can provide backup power to the hospital’s state-of-the-art surgical and emergency centers for up to nine days in the event of a natural disaster.

The new Mount Sinai facilities – which include a 34,000-square-foot emergency room, 154 private patient rooms, 12 operating rooms and the energy center – officially opened in February 2019, giving Mount Sinai the capacity to care for 50,000 new patients every year.

The innovative Finker-Frenkel Energy Center ensures that hospital staff can provide uninterrupted care during hurricane season and throughout the year.

To learn more about Mount Sinai Medical Center, please visit: https://www.msmc.com/