By Eleni Kalogeras

TNH Staff Writer

NEW YORK – When the President, Chair, and Editor-in-Chief of the Huffington Post Media Group says attention must be paid, people listen. Ariana Huffington was the keynote speaker at the recent Mount Sinai Women’s Health Day of Learning Luncheon.

Huffington, a resident of the “world’s most influential women” lists of periodicals like Time and Forbes, enriched and enlightened the gathering with her presentation at the Plaza Hotel.

She informed the guests about the specialized services of Manhattan’s Mount Sinai Hospital, emphasizing preventive care and screening, general medical research and advances in women’s cancer. She also spoke about the unique issues and manifestations of cardiovascular disease for women.

The day’s events included education seminars titled “Guts and Good Health: A Woman’s Practical Guide to Preventing Gastrointestinal Cancer,” The Heart of the Matter,” and “The Hot and Cold Truth,” which addressed issues concerning hormonal changes and the resulting effects it has on the different stages of a woman’s life.

The guests were greeted by David Reich, the President of Mt. Sinai Hospital and Barbara Murphy, Chair of the Samuel Bronfman Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai Health System, introduced Huffington.

The departments that participated included Medicine, Cardiology and OB/GYN.

Huffington praised the continuing progress and achievement of Mt. Sinai in the area of women’s health and applauded its service to New York’s female population. Well-informed and exuding glamor and wit, she seized her listeners’ attention in a ballroom filled with 1000 people, mainly women.

The uber-successful woman who has been enriched beyond her wildest childhood dreams through her energy, imagination and boldness nevertheless preached the gospel of a new way of life, replacing high achievers’ traditional goals of money and success, which she said has not led them to happiness, with a new culture of attention to health, wisdom, spirituality, and philanthropy.

Asked by TNH to express her thoughts about today’s Greek-American woman, she said “we are dynamic!” and continued that “Greeks love life, they see it is a gift and not a burden. They are hospitable, and embody the spirit of Zorba the Greek.”