Founded in 1852 as “The Jews Hospital in New York,” Mount Sinai has a fascinating, storied history which is little known to the general public. The hospital, founded to serve indigent immigrant Jews in desperate need of medical care, expanded from a brownstone on 28th Street to a 20-building complex serving 400,000 patients annually. A striking number of the major medical advances of the past century and a half began there, among them: the field of pediatrics, the modern method of blood transfusion, the use of oral medication for diabetes, and combination chemotherapy. Mt. Sinai opened its doors in the 1930s to Jewish doctors escaping Hitler’s Europe.
Dr. Arthur Aufses, who served for 21 years as the Chief of Surgery, and still works at the hospital today. His father, the son of German-Jewish immigrants, was a surgeon at Mount Sinai dating back to the 1920s – an era when strict quotas made it difficult for Jews to get into medical school. In addition, Dr. Aufses has written two published books on the hospital’s history.
I saw this piece by chance recently and it brought tears to my eyes. I worked for Dr. Aufses over 26 years ago in the Surgical Division as the Administrator for the Surgical Program. He is a gentelman, a scholars and a phenomenal human being who I am proud to call my friend. He is a generous man in many ways and I have been fortunate to be associated with him. I will purchase this documentary simply for the honor of owning the history of Dr. Aufses and his father who have indeed created a legacy worth having. I look forward to sharing this with my family and friends so it has been so beautifully done. I thank PBS for having the wisdom to show this program.
Sincerely,
Lynda Perdomo-Ayala
Enjoy this as I did.
This is a great piece, I have never met Arthur Aufses, but I have met his daughter-in-law
Richard Meier’s 28-year-old son, Joseph, is claiming that the architect–who is “known for having an appreciative eye for beautiful women”–forced him into Mount Sinai Psychiatric Hospital when he discovered his famous father was gay.
Is it possible that Joel Ehrenkanz, a trustee at Mt. Sinai and Richard Meier’s attorney, could stoop so low to involve the hospital in a episode of such dirty corruption?
[...] “Jews Hospital” on 28th Street, a forerunner to Mount Sinai Medical Center, got 20 pounds of matzo meal at 6 cents a pound as well as matzo, the report also records. [...]
I went to nursing school at Mount Sinai starting in 1945.
This brought back many fond memories.
Thank you.