Message From the Chair

I want to thank you for taking some of your valuable time to learn more about the Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. For nearly 100 years at this very site (and for over 100 here in New York City), we have been taking care of New York’s sickest and most complex children and striving to innovate for all children. I invite you to explore this annual report and learn more about where it all is today. The sections in this report describe some of the works of a truly resourceful and committed team of pediatricians and subspecialists joined together to heal, innovate, teach, and create futures for our children.

For one, our work really matters. We solve problems for children future and present. There is truly outstanding research in partnership with both federal agencies and foundations that answer fundamentally important questions and help generate healthy lives and cures. We have extraordinary clinical programs and take care of some of New York’s children that really cannot be cared for elsewhere.  We have thirteen divisions and collaborate broadly with other departments to ensure that care provided at our Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and other sites throughout our region is what we would want our own children to receive if they needed it.  We also train future pediatricians and specialists in ways that help them care and lead at the top of their fields, wherever they might be. 

Above all, we are here for children. We have been making a difference in New York for New York and for children everywhere for over 137 years.  

It is the most exciting time in the history of biomedicine to provide real impact for children – through the tools of science, care, and healing. Join us through this report to learn more about why that is true and what we are doing.

Most appreciatively,

Jordan Scott Orange, MD, PhD
Reuben S. Carpentier Professor of Pediatrics