Moriah Sirotkin, NP: Working at the Berrie Center Is a Dream Come True

Moriah Sirotkin, NP is a sharp and inquisitive nurse who loves working in diabetes for all of the reasons many people with diabetes find it frustrating. She enjoys analyzing data, implementing new technology and steep learning curves. 

Moriah Sirotkin, NP with her family

“Diabetes is kind of a guessing game and no two people are ever the same,” Moriah said. “I love that I can look at the numbers and propose different scenarios.” 

Moriah joined the Berrie Center team in early 2022 after taking time off as a nurse practitioner at a hospital to care for her now 18-month-old daughter Josie. Moriah loves being a mother, and at one point told her friends and family, she would only return to the workforce if she could find her absolute “dream job”. Fast-forward to today and Moriah said she found it.  

“This is my dream job and I love it.” 

At the Berrie Center Moriah splits her time between seeing people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in the hospital and follow up visits at the Berrie Center. For many patients with new onset T1D, Moriah is their first point of contact from the Berrie Center team, a role she takes very seriously.  

“People never forget the face of the first person they come into contact with in the hospital,” Moriah said. “I work hard to develop special bonds with the patients that I meet. I call them every day after they leave the hospital.”

When Moriah meets with new patients, her approach is to be very open and honest about the reality of life with diabetes. “I tell them, “This is not great, but we are here to make it the best it possibly can be. I tell the parents the experience is like having a newborn, but it is called diabetes.”” 

She is also empathetic to the challenges of living with a chronic condition. Some people are very scared to go home from the hospital, she said, some families face language and literacy barriers, as well as intellectual barriers, and monetary challenges. “You need to meet these families where they are,” said Moriah, who implements a variety of methods to keep patients and families safe and comfortable.   

Moriah’s “big push” is to get her pediatric patients on a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) before they leave the hospital. “It makes me feel safer and it makes the parents a little more at ease. The sooner you get on a CGM the better your outcomes, the better your control.”

She works very hard at building a sense of teamwork and sees this another key to success.  She encourages parents and kids to be very involved during appointments. “I love that I am in a role where I am trying to make a better quality of life for people. Diabetes is a condition where things can continually get better if we all put in the effort.”  

Moriah’s interest in endocrinology stems from helping her childhood friend who developed T1D at a young age. From this experience, she became fascinated with learning all about the endocrine system. 

She believes there is no better place to facilitate this interest than at the Berrie Center. “I am lucky this is such a great teaching facility and everyone is so open to answering any of my questions no matter what. I feel really lucky with this team.”

To make an appointment with Moriah please call 212-851-5494.