Victor Sanotsky, RN

Many would consider Victor Sanotsky’s path to a nursing career as an unusual one. It started in Ukraine with an interest in the electronics field. Then, following military service as a Sergeant in its Air Safety Unit, he attended the Polytechnic University where his interest changed to the journalism field.

In 1992, Mr. Sanotsky decided to immigrate to the United States. When one of his friends suggested he should consider the nursing field, Mr. Sanotsky decided to try it, a decision that resulted in another career change. This time, it was a permanent one. “I knew then that nursing was the right choice because it gave me the opportunity to help people and see that my efforts were making a real difference,” stated Mr. Sanotsky. He subsequently enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree program at Kean University and took on a position as a staff nurse in the Kidney Transplant Unit at Hackensack University Medical Center.

Mr. Sanotsky’s experience at Hackensack further reinforced his interest in nursing, which led to enrollment at New York University and a Master’s degree in Nursing. It was also during this time period that another friend recommended that he consider Operating Room Nursing. “The intensity of the OR environment, its highly skilled surgical teams, state-of-the-art technology, and many patient successes were among the attraction points for me,” stated Mr. Sanotsky. As a result, he accepted a Patient Management position at Weill Cornell Medical Center and then the Hospital for Special Surgery. His career further advanced when he became Director, Perioperative Surgery, at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center in New Jersey, while also attaining a Master’s in Business Administration from Rutgers University.

It was Mr. Sanotsky’s desire to return to the New York City health care environment that was a major factor in his decision to accept in 2021 the Director of Perioperative Nursing position at BronxCare. “Any doubts I had about making the move from New Jersey were immediately erased by the great people I met, the doctors, nurses, administrative leaders, and employees, and the positive feedback I received from them,” stated Mr. Sanotsky.

As Director of Perioperative Nursing, Mr. Sanotsky is taking on the many challenges associated with the OR and Recovery Room as well as its Ambulatory Surgery, Endoscopy, and Central Sterile areas, among other key roles. BronxCare’s OR consists of 10 operating rooms, and Mr. Sanotsky works with the surgical and anesthesia teams to assign the nursing and support staff for the specific operative procedures being performed, as well as to allocate the needed supplies for them. He is also involved in overseeing the scheduling process and making sure it is a seamless one for each patient, from preoperative to operative to postoperative. This process can be especially challenging because of the close to 9,000 operative procedures performed annually at BronxCare.

Despite Mr. Sanotsky’s difficult daily work schedule and 24/7 availability for essential emergency operative procedures, Mr. Sanotsky always finds time for his family. He and his wife, Olya, a nurse practitioner, reside in New Jersey and have a six-year-old son, also named Victor. Mr. Sanotsky enjoys flying small planes and riding his motorcycle as well as traveling throughout Europe.

But he also takes special pride in his BronxCare family. “We have an excellent OR nursing staff, which has contributed to a strong team approach, clearly providing the people of the Bronx with top-notch surgical care,” stated Mr. Sanotsky.