Consulting & Education
Dr. Levine is part of the teaching program for geriatric fellows in the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Care at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He authored the Pressure Injuries and Wound Care chapter in the Geriatrics Review Syllabus (GRS9, GRS10, GRS11 and the upcoming GRS12) for the American Geriatrics Society, and was a contributing author for the American Medical Directors Association’s Clinical Practice Guideline for Pressure Ulcers.
Dr. Levine is an alumnus of the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP), an organization that serves as the authoritative voice for improved patient outcomes in pressure ulcer prevention and treatment through public policy, education, and research.
Among his many consulting appointments, he participated in the New York State Gold STAMP Advisory Committee to assist in developing and implementing cross-setting collaboratives with hospitals, nursing homes, and home care agencies to reduce the incidence and prevalence of pressure ulcers, and assisted the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the roll-out of revised Section M-Skin Condition of MDS 3.0.
ARCHIVED WEBINARS:
Wound Care: Maximizing Quality While Controlling Cost
When Cure is Not the Goal: Palliative Care for Chronic Wounds
Infectious Aspect of Chronic Wounds, including Infection Control
Unavoidable Pressure Injuries, Terminal Ulceration & Skin Failure: Where were we, where are we and where are we going?
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Does Anyone Remember “The Purple Book”?
Nov 15, 2024
I found my Purple Book in the bottom of a drawer when doing some cleaning. Although well used it was in good shape, and brought back memories of my early career. The book was published just as I was beginning my first job as attending physician and director of research in a large nursing home in the Bronx. During my geriatric fellowship at Mount Sinai Medical Center I became interested in chronic wounds because many patients suffered with them but there was little information available on prevention and treatment.
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Wound Care for Geriatricians and Primary Care Practitioners
Oct 5, 2024
For this issue of Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, I invited leaders in the field to share their knowledge and expertise with the goal of educating clinicians on the basics of wound care. It is both an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to bring together information that will improve care of vulnerable adults in an area where it is most needed.
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New Reference Work on Pressure Injuries and Chronic Wounds
Jul 27, 2024
I am proud to introduce my volume in Elsevier’s series of Clinics in Geriatric Medicine entitled Pressure Injuries and Chronic Wounds. To complete this work I invited leaders in the field to share their knowledge and expertise with the goal of educating... read more -
Wet Cement—A Preventable Cause of Chemical Burn
Jul 19, 2024
Few people are aware that wet cement is a strong alkali that can cause deep third-degree burns necessitating surgical debridement and prolonged healing time. Chemical burns from cement can be avoided by adequate skin and eye protection as well as immediate first aid.
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Wound Care Education for Medical Doctors: Filling the Gap
Mar 18, 2024
Doctors need to be taught how to assess and document wounds, prognosticate healing, address underlying comorbidities, and choose among the multiplicity of wound care treatment modalities. The task is huge, but I am pleased to make a small contribution to closing the gap.
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Academic Promotion at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Jan 25, 2024
I am delighted to announce my promotion to Clinical Professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Teaching medical students, residents, and fellows has been a passion, and over the years I had the honor and privilege of mentoring trainees through dozens of research projects related to wound care.
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Medicine & Art (Not necessarily in that order)
Nov 12, 2023
This video presentation was delivered in March 2023 in the Winter Talk series sponsored by NYC Urban Sketchers, hosted by Mark Leibowitz. Here I discuss how I have integrated medicine with art, and art with medicine, in the course of my career as a medical doctor in Manhattan.
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New Textbook Chapter on Pressure Injuries & Chronic Wounds
Nov 5, 2023
I am thrilled that my chapter entitled Pressure Injury and Chronic Wounds was just published in a major new reference work. The textbook is entitled Geriatric Medicine: A Person Centered Evidence Based Approach and is available on Springerlink. My chapter is illustrated by photos taken over years in practice, and illustrations that demonstrate pressure injury staging and aging skin.
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Pressure Relief and Pressure Redistribution: What is the Difference?
Oct 7, 2023
These terms refer to different strategies and techniques used to alleviate and prevent excessive pressure on a person’s skin and underlying tissues, which can lead to tissue damage and the alterations in skin integrity.
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Malnutrition Can Impact Wound Healing
Oct 2, 2023
To promote effective wound healing, it’s essential for individuals who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition to address their nutritional deficiencies through dietary improvements or, in severe cases, medical interventions such as nutritional supplements, feeding tubes, or intravenous nutrition.
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Wound Bed Preparation is a Crucial Strategy to Heal Chronic Wounds
Sep 24, 2023
Wound bed preparation is a dynamic process that may require multiple interventions and ongoing care. The goal is to create an environment conducive to healing, reduce complications, and promote the restoration of normal tissue. Healthcare professionals, including wound care specialists, play a critical role in managing wound bed preparation for patients.
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Vitamins and Wound Healing
Sep 9, 2023
Wound healing is a complex biological process that involves inflammation, tissue formation, and tissue remodeling. Vitamin supplements can play a role in wound healing by supporting various aspects of the body’s natural healing processes.
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Teaching Wound Care at the American College of Physicians Annual Meeting
Apr 29, 2023
I recently had the honor of teaching a section entitled “Wound Care for the Internist.” at the annual meeting of the American College of Physicians (ACP) in San Diego. ACP is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members that include internal medicine physicians, subspecialists, and medical students. Kudos to ACP for including a section on wound care in their annual didactic.
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Elder Abuse on Film: A Geriatrician’s Viewpoint.
Oct 30, 2022
Events dramatized in this film are unfortunately sometimes encountered in day-to-day medical practice, but go unreported and unnoticed by primary care providers. In the film, the abuser was the victim’s sister, but abusers can have many roles including spouse, adult child, or unrelated caregiver.
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Presenting Wound Care Research at the American Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting
May 15, 2022
Despite the well-documented association of chronic wounds with aging, we conclude that the field of geriatrics has provided suboptimal attention to this important topic.
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COVID-Related Skin Injuries
May 3, 2022
Thankfully the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is over, but the public health crisis brought new challenges to the wound care world. There has been profound impact upon the epidemiology of skin lesions such as pressure injuries, and this post will discuss major... read more -
Presenting on Skin Failure at SAWC
Apr 29, 2022
I was honored to present on skin failure at the Spring meeting of the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) in Phoenix. My presentation was intended to deliver basic concepts of skin failure pathophysiology outlined in my paper published in the March 2022 issue of Advances in Skin & Wound Care.
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Avoiding The Plague: Medical Advice from the 14th Century.
Jan 18, 2022
These are recommendations that physicians offered for avoiding the Black Death that ravaged Europe in the 14th Century, as related from the book entitled Hecker’s Epidemics of the Middle Ages.
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A Review of the Skin Failure Concept
Nov 19, 2021
This new manuscript reviews barrier functions of skin and defines specific pathophysiologic factors that lead to its disruption including hypoperfusion, hypoxia, increased vascular permeability, and edema – all of which act synergistically. The article further defines acute and chronic conditions leading to these pathophysiologic aberrations including Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome (MODS), protein-calorie malnutrition, and immunocompromised states. Also addressed are critical contributing factors such as age-related skin changes, frailty, sarcopenia, cytoskeletal and external forces, pharmacologic contributors, and the dying process.
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Medical Device Related Pressure Injury to the Ear due to Mask
Aug 2, 2021
The ear is a convenient anchor for a mask, which renders it subject to constant pressure and friction from the elastic band. Diagnosis of injuries in the postauricular area may be missed or delayed because it is hidden behind the ear and/or covered with hair. Pressure injury to the ear can result in pain, infection, scarring, or permanent deformity.
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Wound Odor: The View from Ancient Greece
May 10, 2021
The fascinating history of wound care dates back to the earliest human cultures, where prehistoric bones and cave paintings left hints of wound-healing knowledge. A major problem associated with wounds is odor, a phenomenon recognized for millennia. In today’s... read more -
Speaking of Aging Skin at NPIAP
Feb 28, 2021
I am pleased to announce that I will be speaking at the upcoming National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel Annual Conference on the topic of aging skin. The NPIAP’s core mission is to provide interprofessional leadership to improve patient outcomes in pressure injury prevention and management through education, public policy, and research.
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Is There a COVID-Related Wound?
Sep 21, 2020
This blog post explores whether there is a link between COVID and wounds. Understanding of this disease is still in the early stages, and it is unclear whether these skin lesions are the result of comorbidities or coinfection with other agents, or whether COVID-19 is actually responsible. The following skin lesions have been described with COVID-19 infection:
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Suspension Therapy for Pressure Injuries: A Rediscovered Footnote to Nazi Medicine
Sep 14, 2020
Shortly after German surrender in WWII, a medical officer from occupying British forces inspected a military hospital in Germany and described a treatment for pressure injuries developed by Nazi doctors. The treatment, based on suspension of the patient by wires drilled into pelvic bones, has been lost to history until now.
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History of Pressure Injury Treatment at the New York Academy of Medicine
Mar 14, 2020
I was recently honored to present at the New York Academy of Medicine’s 11th Annual History of Medicine Night, along with five other distinguished lecturers. My topic was entitled Bed-Sore Treatment by Suspension: A Case Report from WWII. While perusing old journals... read more