News

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Jamie Palaganas as Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and Assistant Attending Pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and the Phyllis and David Komansky Children’s Hospital.

Her clinical expertise is in general child neurology including pediatric epilepsy, tics, headache, and hypotonia.  As a pediatric neurohospitalist at the NYP Komansky Children’s Hospital, she focuses on providing high quality care to acutely ill children, improving the transition from inpatient to outpatient care and cultivating interdisciplinary teams to best care for patients in all aspects of their life with neurologic conditions.  

Dr. Palaganas completed her medical degree (M.D.) at the University of Buffalo. Following her residency in Pediatrics at Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, she went on to complete a residency in Child Neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital.  She is board certified in pediatrics and neurology with special qualifications in child neurology. 

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is ranked No. 5 in the nation and No. 1 in New York, according to U.S. News and World Report’s annual survey of “Best Hospitals,” published online today. This is the 19th consecutive year NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is the top-ranked hospital in New York.  

The Hospital is one of the largest and most comprehensive healthcare delivery systems in the nation, was ranked in the top five nationwide in six specialties: cardiology and heart surgery (No. 4), gynecology (No. 4), nephrology (No. 5), neurology/neurosurgery (No. 4), psychiatry (No. 4) and rheumatology (No. 3), a collaborative program with the Hospital for Special Surgery. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital ranks in the top 10 in 10 specialties this year, and in the top 50 in 15 of the 16 specialties evaluated.

2019 Excellence in Medical Education Awards 

Pediatrics faculty members were recipients of Weill Cornell Medicine's 2019 Excellence in Medical Education Awards, which recognize WCM faculty members who have distinguished themselves in teaching and mentoring students, post docs, and/or faculty.  

Care Coordination and Social Work Awards 

At our affiliate, NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital, Sarah Roffe, LMSW, CCLS and Alexandra Friedman, LCSW, were recognized for their outstanding contributions in patient care.   Ms. Roffe received the Excellence in Social Work Award and Ms. Friedman was honored as Rookie of the Year

On the eve of commencement, students, alumni, faculty and staff from Weill Cornell Medical College and Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences were recognized for their outstanding achievements with special awards, prizes, certificates and the Weill Cornell seal during three ceremonies on May 29 in Uris Auditorium and Griffis Faculty Club. The awards acknowledge exceptional academic achievement, scholarship, research, teaching and service.  

A number of Pediatric faculty and staff were recognized.  See below for the full list of award recipients.

Weill Cornell Medical College

Student Awards

The Clarence C. Coryell Prizes in Surgery and Medicine
Elizabeth Gardner Gilbert

Coryell Prize in Medicine
Cody Patrick Nolan

The Alfred Moritz Michaelis Prize in Medicine
Yunan Nie

The Oskar Diethelm Prize for Excellence in Psychiatry
Zhenzhen Shi

The Joan Severino Parisi Prize in Internal Medicine
Lee Solomon Gotesdiener

The David and Gladys Drusin Memorial Prize
Caitlin Krystyna Gribbin

The T. Campbell Thompson Prize for Excellence in Orthopedic Surgery
Tyler James Uppstrom

The Mitchell Spivak Memorial Prize in Pediatrics
Micha Virginia Thompson

The James A. Moore Scholarship
Aaron Bamberger Oswald

The Department of Pediatrics welcomes Elizabeth Fiorino, MD to the Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergy & Immunology.   An Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and an Assistant Attending Pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian Phyllis and David Komansky Children's Hospital, Dr. Fiorino is board certified in Pediatric Pulmonology and General Pediatrics. 

Dr. Fiorino has special interest in pediatric asthma, cystic fibrosis, interstitial and restrictive lung disease, and rare lung diseases in general.  She also has expertise in diagnostic procedures such as flexible bronchoscopy and pulmonary function testing.

She received her medical degree at New York Medical College and completed her residency at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, where she also served as Chief Resident. She then focused on her sub-speciality, completing a pulmonary fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

We are pleased to announce the opening of our new Fetal & Pediatric Cardiology Services practice at 156 William Street (12th floor) in Lower Manhattan on February 21, 2019.  The practice will be open on Thursdays from 9am-5pm and will treat children, adolescents and young adults. 

If you would like to schedule an appointment or make a referral, please call us now at 212-746-3561.

At our Lower Manhattan location, our expertise includes:

  • Fetal cardiology
  • Fetal echocardiography
  • Cardiac screening during pregnancy
  • Heart murmur
  • Arrhythmias and management of fetal arrhythmias 
  • Chest Pain
  • Palpitations
  • Cardiomyopathy
  • Congenital Heart Disease
  • Kawasaki Disease
  • Marfan Syndrome
  • Syncope (fainting)
  • Holter and event recording
  • Electrocardiogram testing
  • Other forms of heart disease

Dr. Jeffrey Perlman grew up in South Africa and attended medical school there. But by 2006, when he was tasked with helping set up the pediatrics program at Tanzania’s Weill Bugando Medical Centre—then newly affiliated with Weill Cornell Medicine—he’d been living and working in the United States for decades. So coming face to face with the reality of how many newborn lives are lost in Africa’s medically under-resourced nations was both shocking and heartbreaking. “I saw all these babies dying unnecessarily,” says Dr. Perlman, a professor of pediatrics who directs the neonatal ICU at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. In America overall, according to figures released by the CDC in 2015, the neonatal mortality rate averages four for every 1000 births—and at a state-of-the-art hospital such as NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, Dr. Perlman says, the number is just .7 per 1000. In Tanzania, by contrast, Dr. Perlman encountered a rate of 39 per 1000 births—or roughly two newborns dying every hour. Dr. Perlman resolved to change that.

Twelve-year old Isabella Ciriello sat next to an incubator in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital, classical guitar in hand. An accomplished musician who plays guitar, piano, and drums, Isabella was first exposed to music as a young patient at NYP Komansky Children’s Hospital. Born 16 weeks early, she spent weeks being cared for by the neonatal intensive care team at the Komansky Hospital, which is affiliated with Weill Cornell Medicine's Department of Pediatrics. Isabella returned to the same NICU unit to perform for a roomful of newborns as her way of giving back.

Read Isabella's Story / Watch the Video 

Thank you for your interest in donating toys to the Department of Pediatrics! Play is a child’s work. In the hospital where children are separated from most of what is familiar, play and activities become valuable and safe outlets for their feelings. Toys and games from our community friends help keep the hospital playrooms and waiting areas well stocked. They help turn special occasions such as birthdays and holidays into happy celebrations.

Toy donations to the Department of Pediatrics are managed by the Child Life Services team at our affiilate, NewYork-Presbyterian Phyllis and David Komansky Children's Hospital, who ensure toys are safe and appropriate for our young patients.

Thank you for your interest in supporting our program and the patients we serve!

To Make a Donation:

PDF icon Toy Donation Guidelines

We all know that when school starts, so can the runny noses and coughs. Missed school days are most commonly due to infections such as the common cold and the flu, but there are ways to help prevent your child from getting sick. Here is a list of tips to keep your children healthy so that they can avoid those miserable sick days at home!

How can I protect my child from getting sick during the school year?

One of the most important and effective things you can do is VACCINATE your child. Vaccines have dramatically decreased the number and types of infections that children get, and are the best way to prevent your child from picking up an infection at school. Unfortunately, we are still seeing outbreaks due to infections such as measles and whooping cough as a result of children not getting vaccinated. Make sure you discuss with your pediatrician which vaccines your child needs.  Also check out the CDC vaccine quiz (https://www2a.cdc.gov/vaccines/childquiz/.

Another important activity you and your children can do is to keep hands clean and prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses through HANDWASHING.

Handwashing – the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and HOW

WHO should wash their hands?
Everyone! It’s easy to do and will work best if everyone does it.

Pediatrics Weill Cornell Medicine Appointments & Referrals: (646) 962-KIDS (646) 962-5437 Chair's Office: Weill Cornell Medicine 525 E 68th St.
Box 225
New York, NY 10065 (646) 962-5437