Congratulations to Dr. Steven Pon on being named the 2022 Physician of the Year by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital’s Department of Nursing.
Each year the Department of Nursing honors a small number of physicians who work with a spirit of collegiality and actively contribute to the safe clinical care of patients at all NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) campuses. The award specifically “recognizes physicians, fellows, house staff and medical students who show competence and caring in the clinical setting and work together with the nurses to attain the highest standards of quality patient care.”
Dr. Steven Pon is the Associate Director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Medical Director of Respiratory Care at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center where he is also an associate attending pediatrician. Highly regarded and greatly respected as a physician, a master clinician, and a superb medical educator, Dr. Pon devotes his clinical practice to caring for critically ill and injured children in the pediatric intensive care unit.
Dr. Pon, who is also an associate professor of clinical pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine, was selected for this prestigious award because of his dedication to patient care excellence and steadfast leadership, which was crucial at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the first wave of COVID-19, Dr. Pon worked tirelessly with the Directors of Respiratory Care across all of the NYP campuses, convening frequent meetings and daily updates regarding respiratory equipment, supplies, and personnel. He worked with Procurement and hospital administration, creating packs of PPE so that our respiratory therapists could jump into emergency situations without compromising their own safety. Dr. Pon helped engineer solutions to clinical problems unique to COVID patients such as developing a way to provide high-flow nasal cannula while scavenging the potentially infectious exhaled gases, thus minimizing risk to the staff. He organized and participated in the evaluation of the many ventilators that Procurement found and proposed for use, developed contingency plans to utilize non-invasive ventilators as emergency invasive ventilators, and managed numerous critical shortages. In short, Dr. Pon was one of the many heroes of the pandemic.
Rae Jean Hemway, Director of Nursing in the Department of Pediatrics says, “Dr. Pon is a well-recognized Pediatric Critical Care Intensivist with a passion for research in informatics and respiratory illnesses across the NYP enterprise and regarded as one of the many heroes of the pandemic.”
“In addition to Dr. Pon’s storied medicine and research background as Pediatric Critical Care Intensivist and his numerous professional accolades, he remains humble and benevolent, always willing to listen and contribute," says Cliff Dryden, Director of Respiratory Therapy.
Dr. Pon was celebrated at the Physician of the Year ceremony, where he received a framed certificate and special gift from hospital administration. His colleagues from the Departments of Nursing and Pediatrics said a few words about his leadership and friendship.
Congratulations Dr. Pon, and thank you for being an inspiration and hero to so many!