|
This Month In Pediatrics
February 2026
Part 1
| | |
Happy National Women Physicians Day!
On February 3rd, we celebrated and thanked our women physicians—especially our women pediatricians—for their compassionate care, inspiring leadership, and unwavering dedication. Their tireless efforts nurture the health and well-being of children and families, advocate for the youngest patients, and serve as role models for the next generation of healthcare leaders. Read more here!
| |  | |
National Advocacy Summit 2026
Drs. Sallie Permar and Karen Acker spoke at the UN Foundation’s Global Health Advocacy Summit on the power of communication in advancing public health advocacy. They addressed over 100 advocates, who later met with 160+ Congressional offices to support funding for vaccines and malaria prevention. Read more here!
| | | |
Department of Pediatrics Recognized Among Nation’s Top Doctors
We’re proud to share that 29 of our pediatric physicians have been named 2026 Top Doctors by Castle Connolly. This prestigious distinction is awarded to only the top 7% of physicians nationwide, highlighting their exceptional expertise, dedication, and commitment to delivering outstanding care to children and families. Please join us in congratulating our doctors on this remarkable achievement!
Our honorees include:
| | |
Dr. Jennifer Cross-Child Developmental
Dr. Maria Thanjan-Pediatric Cardiology
Dr. Patrick Flynn- Pediatric Cardiology
Dr. Seena Abraham- Pediatric Cardiology
Dr. Bruce Greenwald- Pediatric Critical Care
Dr. Maria Lame- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Dr. Zoltan Antal- Pediatric Endocrinology
Dr. Robbyn Sockolow- Pediatric Gastroenterology
Dr. Sujit Sheth- Pediatric Hematology-Oncology
Dr. Mark Souweidane- Pediatric Neurological Surgery
Dr. Vikash Modi- Pediatric Otolaryngology
Dr. Arzu Kovanlikaya- Pediatric Radiology
Dr. Angela Kadenhe-Chiweshe- Pediatric Surgery
Dr. Nitsana Spigland- Pediatric Surgery
Dr. P. Stephen Oh- Pediatric Surgery
| | | |
Dr. Ardavan Akhavan- Pediatric Urology
Dr. Dix Phillip Poppas- Pediatric Urology
Dr. Jeremy Wiygul- Pediatric Urology
Dr. Richard Schlussel- Pediatric Urology
Dr. Henry Evans- Pediatrics
Dr. Audrey Olivera Schwabe- Pediatrics
Dr. Carolyn Hiltebeitel- Pediatrics
Dr. Eric Ogden-Wolgemuth- Pediatrics
Dr. Gargi Gandhi- Pediatrics
Dr. H. Susan Cha- Pediatrics
Dr. Lara Gordon- Pediatrics
Dr. Paul Chung- Pediatrics
Dr. Melanie Wilson-Taylor- General Academic Pediatrics
Dr. Theresa Hetzler- General Academic Pediatrics
| |
| | |
Pediatric Fellows' Research in Progress takes place on the first Thursday of each month. Third and second-year fellows present their ongoing academic scholarship work. This month's presenters were:
Leslie Kaufmann, MD
Third Year Emergency Medicine Fellow
Topic: "Are we ready for AI?
Pediatric Emergency Providers and Discharge Innovation."
Taylor Jackvony, MD
Second Year Hospital Medicine Fellow
Topic: "Exploring the Variation in Care in Brief Resolved Unexplained Events (BRUE)"
| | | |
|
Bring Your Voice to Albany on February 23rd!
Join pediatricians from across the state to advocate for the many pressing issues impacting children’s health today. There is no charge to attend, and space is limited. Registrations will be made on a first come, first served basis.
Your legislator appointments will be made for you. Contact Dr. Laurie Gordon or Ilina Das Ewen if you have questions about advocacy best practices, key messages, or anything else that will make this a meaningful experience.
| | | |
|
Good News for Children’s Health Advocacy
There’s finally some good news in children’s health advocacy that is worth celebrating! The passage of the FY 2026 HHS funding bill, alongside the Give Kids a Chance Act, delivers meaningful policy wins that expand access to care, strengthen the pediatric workforce, and protect hospitals serving our most vulnerable children.
A major victory is the inclusion of the Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act, long championed by advocates to remove bureaucratic barriers that delay treatment for children who must cross state lines to receive specialized care. For children insured by Medicaid, this means faster access to timely care, regardless of geography.
The legislation also includes a $5 million increase in funding for the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) program. With more than 50% of pediatricians and pediatric specialists trained at CHGME hospitals, this investment supports the future of pediatric care nationwide and reinforces children’s hospitals as engines of innovation, discovery, and expertise.
The groundbreaking Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act, will make pediatric drug research a bigger part of the pharmaceutical R&D process in addition to studying combination therapies. This bill took five years of advocacy, proof that a steady drumbeat is necessary and effective. Chief among the advocates for this bill were pediatric cancer patients themselves, along with their families and physicians.
Together, these wins reflect the power of sustained advocacy and a growing recognition that investing in children’s health is not optional, it’s foundational. This moment underscores what’s possible when providers, families, advocates, and policymakers work together to give every child a fair chance at a healthy future.
| | | |
|
Public Comment Open on Nursing Degree Recognition
The U.S. Department of Education has proposed rules that exclude nursing from the “professional degree” designation, a change that could significantly limit graduate nursing students’ access to federal loans and loan repayment programs. Nursing education requires rigorous academic and clinical training, licensure, and ongoing certification. It goes without saying that nurses provide essential care. Yet under the proposal, graduate nursing students would face much lower borrowing limits than other professional degree students. The Department has indicated it might revise the rule based on public input, so this is where we need everyone to use their OUTSIDE voices.
The public comment period is open until March 2, 2026. You can find more information here. You can make public comments here.
| | | | Click here to view publications by faculty members published in the last 30 days! | | |
| | |
Dr. Ria Goswami has been invited to give a short talk at the upcoming Keystone Symposia, Decoding HIV Persistence: Strategies for Curing HIV Infection, held jointly with HIV Vaccines: Intersections of Basic and Clinical Science, April 16–20, 2026, at the Beaver Run Conference Center in Breckenridge, Colorado.
| | | |
| | Dr. Erika Abramson presented at the Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell Broad meeting on AI Is Already Transforming Healthcare. | | | |
| | |
Dr. MacKenzie Preston presented during the Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell Broad meeting on artificial intelligence.
| | | |
| | Faculty and staff took a sweet pause from the workday on February 12 to participate in the Valentine’s Day Treat Exchange, hosted by the Staff and Faculty Wellness Committee. The exchange offered a fun and feel-good opportunity to take a break, connect with colleagues, and spread a little joy. From thoughtful treats to warm smiles, the event was a simple reminder of the power of appreciation, community, and small moments of kindness. | | | |
| | |
Join the Faculty Wellness Committee!
As we kick off the new year, we’re inviting faculty members to get involved with the Faculty Wellness Committee. This group plans events throughout the year that promote connection, collaboration, and fun, gathers faculty feedback and ideas, and works closely with department leadership to support wellness initiatives and opportunities.
If you’re interested in joining, we meet every other month on Thursdays at noon. Please reach out to Dr. Susan Bostwick for more information—we’d love to have you!
Upcoming Events:
- 💖 Faculty & Staff Valentine’s Day – Hot cocoa and treats
- 🧠 Trivia Night – Sign up with a team!
- 📚 Book Club – February 2nd
- 🍽️ Ronald McDonald House – Serving/providing dinner for families
More to come—stay tuned!
| | | |
| | |
Stay connected to the work of our faculty through the WCM Kids Health Cast, a podcast featuring our experts sharing knowledge and perspectives on pediatric care. Listen here!
| | | | New Clinical Promotion Pathway for Faculty Devoting ≥70% Effort to Clinical Care | |
Weill Cornell Medicine is launching a major new advancement in faculty career development: the Pathway Recognizing Excellence in Clinical Practice and Leadership.
First previewed during Dean Harrington's December 2025 State of Weill Cornell Medicine Address and Town Hall, this pathway was created to acknowledge and promote faculty who devote 70% or more of their time to clinical care, clinical administration and teaching. It reflects WCM’s continued commitment to supporting clinical faculty and modernizing promotion structures across
the institution.
Faculty appointed to this pathway will be recognized for exemplary clinical service and clinical, educational and administrative leadership in their field. The pathway offers three ranks for full-time and voluntary faculty—Clinical Assistant Professor, Clinical Associate Professor and Clinical Professor—with promotion based on increasing local, regional and national impact. A newly formed subcommittee will review applications using an updated digital survey format.
The addition of this pathway ensures that the accomplishments of clinical faculty—who form the backbone of patient care delivery—are recognized with clarity, consistency and equity across WCM. With this development, the former “Clinical Excellence” Pathway has been revised to the Pathway Recognizing Academic Clinical Excellence.
This new pathway represents an exciting and timely opportunity for professional growth for our clinical Psychiatry faculty. Additional details, guidance and timelines will be shared once the pathway formally launches.
| |
Are you interested in sharing your expertise or telling your story? We invite you to contribute to our department blog. You can submit post ideas to Ilina Das Ewen. Whether you have an idea, bullet points, an outline, or a fully written blog post, reach out to Ilina. She can help your draft or edit a blog post. Your personal stories and insights are valuable. We, and our patients, want to hear from you!
Our newest post highlights the importance of championing vaccines and raising our voices at the Global Health Advocacy Summit!
| | | |
|
New Codes for Immunization Counseling
Beginning January 1, three new CPT® codes took effect, introducing a long-awaited solution for reporting immunization-related counseling and clinical services when no vaccine is administered.
The new immunization counseling codes are as follows:
-
90482 (Immunization counseling by physician or other qualified health care professional when immunization(s) are not administered by the provider on the same date of service; 3 minutes up to 10 minutes)
-
90483 (…greater than 10 minutes up to 20 minutes)
-
90484 (… greater than 20 minutes)
CPT codes 90482-90484 are designed to capture this work. They are time-based counseling codes, not vaccine administration codes, and may be reported even when immunizations are ultimately declined or delayed. In doing so, they validate the clinical importance of sustained engagement with hesitant families rather than incentivizing rushed or avoidant interactions.
Underimmunization Is Now a Reportable Clinical Condition
Beyond reimbursement, these new codes offer an opportunity to better define and track under-immunization as a clinical and public health issue. When paired with existing ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes — such as Z71.85 (Encounter for immunization safety counseling) and Z28.xx (Immunization not carried out and underimmunization status) — pediatric practices can more accurately document the prevalence and nature of vaccine hesitancy.
Documentation Reminders
Notes should clearly support time spent, content and complexity of the counseling and clinical context for counseling.
For example: I spent 20 minutes counseling parents on Flu vaccine. Discussed the benefits of immunization with parents in light of patient’s history of asthma and previous hospitalizations. Parents declined to vaccinate the child at this time but were given additional resources about immunization. (Bill 90483 [greater than 10 minutes up to 20 minutes])
| | | |
| |
Schedule your Professional Headshot
External Affairs has established "headshot days" to fill the business need for standardized institutional headshots, particularly for clinical faculty profiles.
Employees in need of headshots may sign up for a 10-minute time slot through Microsoft Bookings (login required).
Stay tuned for upcoming headshot days here!
| | | |
| |
The Cornell Health Policy Center: Era of the Child Convening
Join us for a panel discussion on the urgent need to identify strategies to ensure children have access to high-quality health care.
Date: March 9, 2026
Time: 9:30am-11:00am
Location: Uris Auditorium, 1300 York Avenue
RSVP Here!
| | | |
| |
Save the Date for the 5th Annual Pediatrics Research Day
Join us for a day filled with research presentations and scholarly exchange, showcasing cutting-edge basic, translational, and clinical projects.
Date: May 12, 2026
More details to come!
| | | |
| | |
2026 Cyma Rubin Women in Science Lectureship
All are invited to attend the Cyma Rubin Women in Science Lectureship, celebrating the achievements of distinguished women scientists and inspiring the next generation of leaders in science.
Date: March 24, 2026
Time: 2-3PM
RSVP Here!
| | | |
| |
Global Infectious Diseases Across a Woman's Lifespan Course
Date: May 13-15, 2026
Email wgh@med.cornell.edu for more information.
| | | | |
A heartfelt shout-out to Dr. Marisa Censani for providing exceptional, compassionate care to her patients and families. Her warm bedside manner, thoughtful communication, and commitment to going above and beyond truly make a difference. We are so fortunate to have her on our team!
Drs. Thomas Ciecierega , Melissa Rose and Oksana Lekarev were among the top pediatric physicians with stellar Google review ratings this month!
Share your appreciation for colleagues by submitting a shout-out for inclusion in the department newsletter here!
| | | | |
