Newswise — To support our veterans in their careers and continue our commitment to diversifying our workforce, the Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS) has partnered with Workforce Opportunity Services (WOS), a leading nonprofit dedicated to recruiting, training, and placing underserved and veteran job seekers into long-lasting careers at prominent organizations.

Through the WOS On Demand program, veterans Jonathan Duchnowski, Kevin Lama, and Anit Shrestha were recruited and placed in various roles within the Department of Information Technology at Mount Sinai. Prior to becoming part of this program, these three veterans struggled to find gainful employment opportunities upon their transition from the military to civilian life.

“The Workforce program gives us a great opportunity to give back to those who have served in the military protecting our country,” said Roger Braman, Senior IT Director of Infrastructure Project Management, who leads the partnership between MSHS and WOS. “The additional support and training that the candidates receive both from the WOS program and MSHS allows these candidates to build on the skills they learned in the military and transition them to the civilian workforce. All of the candidates are really motivated and eager to learn and have quickly been able to integrate themselves into the teams they have been assigned.”

“WOS is thrilled to partner with Mount Sinai to place talented veterans at a premier healthcare provider in the greater New York metropolitan area,” said Dr. Art Langer, Chairman and Founder of WOS. “We look forward to seeing the continued growth and success of Jonathan and Kevin in their careers as well as in our continued partnership with Mount Sinai.”

According to Jonathan Duchnowski, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, “The WOS program helped me by providing practiced skills of business acumen and networking, and has helped me to translate my military skills to the business world. There are many veterans who fall through the cracks of civilian life or aren’t prepared for their return. I am so grateful for WOS and Mount Sinai for believing in me and my success.”

For Kevin Lama, a veteran of the U.S. Army, the WOS Program has given him the opportunity to be excited about coming to work and civilian life. “My experience at Mount Sinai and WOS has been rewarding and prosperous. I look forward to growing within the Mount Sinai Health System and the IT security department. My career interests have always been in the computer security sector, and being in this position is an exciting one as it allows me to see the institutional approach to maintaining the infrastructure that allows Mount Sinai to operate on a day-to-day basis.”

About Workforce Opportunity Services
Founded in 2005, Workforce Opportunity Services (WOS) is a leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to developing the skills of untapped talent from underserved and veteran communities through partnerships with organizations dedicated to diversifying their workforce. Utilizing a scientifically-based model derived from research conducted at Columbia University, we recruit, educate, train, and place high-potential candidates with leading organizations around the world. To date, WOS has served more than 5,300 individuals through partnerships with over 65 corporations worldwide. For more information, visit wforce.org. Find WOS on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.

About Mount Sinai Health System
The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest integrated delivery system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai's vision is to produce the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The Health System includes approximately 7,480 primary and specialty care physicians; 11 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 410 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. The Icahn School of Medicine is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report's "Best Medical Schools", aligned with a U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" Hospital, No. 12 in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding, and among the top 10 most innovative research institutions as ranked by the journal Nature in its Nature Innovation Index. This reflects a special level of excellence in education, clinical practice, and research. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 18 on U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation's top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Nephrology, and Neurology/Neurosurgery, and in the top 50 in six other specialties in the 2018-2019 "Best Hospitals" issue. Mount Sinai's Kravis Children's Hospital also is ranked nationally in five out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 11th nationally for Ophthalmology and 44th for Ear, Nose, and Throat. Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's, Mount Sinai West, and South Nassau Communities Hospital are ranked regionally.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.