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This Month In Pediatrics
May 2026
Part 2
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A Family's Journey Through Seizures and Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery
In this panel discussion, Dr. Caitlin Hoffman speaks with a parent about her daughter’s experience with seizures and her journey through epilepsy surgery. Dr. Hoffman also provides an overview of the complexities of seizures and epilepsy in child development, offering valuable insight for families and caregivers. Listen to the podcast here!
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E-Bikes and Kids: What You Need to Know About Rising Safety Risks
The national organization Trainees 4 Childhood Injury Prevention explores the growing risks associated with electric bikes in their blog, Fast Bike or Mini Motorcycle? Electric Bikes and Pediatric Trauma. In recognition of the Day of Action on May 20, the article highlights rising safety concerns as e-bikes become increasingly popular among children and teens, and offers key insights for parents and pediatricians on how to keep young riders safe. Read more here!
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Dr. Shiran Moore
Division of Neonatology
| | The Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Pediatrics and the Drukier Institute for Children’s Health successfully hosted the 5th Annual Pediatric Research Day on May 12, 2026, bringing together an inspiring community of clinicians, scientists, trainees, and collaborators to celebrate innovation and discovery in pediatric medicine. Read more here! | |
| | 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. Stay tuned for next month's presenters! | | | | We are excited to announce the selected resident leadership positions for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 academic years! | | |
One Click for SNAP
In a rare show of unity, all 50 governors have called for action. Now we need your voice too.
Last summer, Congress cut $187 billion from SNAP, the nation’s primary hunger relief program, and the consequences are already devastating. More than 3 million people, including children, have lost access to benefits, and up to 16 million more children are at risk. For the first time in the program’s history, states are being asked to shoulder costs many simply cannot afford.
The current Farm Bill fails to restore these cuts, leaving nearly 40 million Americans, 39% of them children, exposed to food insecurity.
What you can do: Contact your U.S. representative and urge them to reject the Farm Bill unless it fully reverses the SNAP cuts made in H.R. 1. When you reach out, share a brief, story about how SNAP has helped patients or families in your community (maintaining confidentiality, of course). Personal accounts make the greatest impact.
Action is just one click away. Click here to contact your representatives.
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Dr. Denis Donovan was once again recognized with the Best Physician Partner award. This honor reflects the meaningful relationships he builds with nurses—grounded in trust, respect, and true collaboration. His team nominated him in recognition of the support and partnership they experience every day. In celebration, their words were shared to highlight the impact of his collaboration and what it means to them.
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Dr. Jennifer Salant received the Gruvitch Faculty Professionalism Award at the 2026 Weill Cornell Medicine Convocation Awards, recognizing her exemplary professionalism and commitment to excellence in academic medicine.
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Dr. Susan Samuels received the Charles L. Bardes Teaching Award at the 2026 Weill Cornell Medicine Convocation Awards in recognition of her outstanding dedication and excellence in teaching.
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Dr. Ji Won Kim received the Neal Fiomenbaum, M.D. Award for Excellence in Emergency Medicine at the 2026 Weill Cornell Medicine Convocation Awards, recognizing her excellence and contributions to the field of emergency medicine.
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| | Dr. Julen Harris is a recipient of the Excellence in Medical Education Award. This honor recognizes Dr. Harris’s outstanding contributions and dedication to medical education. The award will be formally presented at the Excellence in Medical Education Awards Ceremony on Thursday, June 25, 2026, from 5–6 PM at the Griffis Faculty Club. | | | |
| | Dr. Jennifer Bassetti is a recipient of the Excellence in Medical Education Award. This honor recognizes Dr. Bassetti's outstanding contributions and dedication to medical education. The award will be formally presented at the Excellence in Medical Education Awards Ceremony on Thursday, June 25, 2026, from 5–6 PM at the Griffis Faculty Club. | | | |
| | Dr. MacKenzi Preston is a recipient of the Excellence in Medical Education Award. This honor recognizes Dr. Preston's outstanding contributions and dedication to medical education. The award will be formally presented at the Excellence in Medical Education Awards Ceremony on Thursday, June 25, 2026, from 5–6 PM at the Griffis Faculty Club. | | | |
| | Dr. Deanna Hano is a recipient of the Excellence in Medical Education Award. This honor recognizes Dr. Hano's outstanding contributions and dedication to medical education. The award will be formally presented at the Excellence in Medical Education Awards Ceremony on Thursday, June 25, 2026, from 5–6 PM at the Griffis Faculty Club. | | | |
| | Dr. Shuchi Jani is a recipient of the Excellence in Medical Education Award. This honor recognizes Dr. Jani's outstanding contributions and dedication to medical education. The award will be formally presented at the Excellence in Medical Education Awards Ceremony on Thursday, June 25, 2026, from 5–6 PM at the Griffis Faculty Club. | | | |
| | Dr. Eric Ogden-Wolgemuth is a recipient of the Excellence in Medical Education Award. This honor recognizes Dr. Ogden-Wolgemuth's outstanding contributions and dedication to medical education. The award will be formally presented at the Excellence in Medical Education Awards Ceremony on Thursday, June 25, 2026, from 5–6 PM at the Griffis Faculty Club. | | | |
| | Lauren Duplessis, a pediatric neurology nurse, was honored as RN of the Year at the 2026 Nursing Awards. This recognition reflects her dedication to her interdisciplinary team, patients, and families. In celebration of this achievement, quotes from her nominators were shared as a reminder of the meaningful impact she continues to make. | | | |
| | Dr. Alim Esemenli (GI Fellow) received the House Staff Teaching Award at the 2026 WCM Convocation. This award, presented by the graduating class, recognizes the WCM-affiliated house officer who best exemplifies clinical excellence and dedication to teaching. | | | |
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Dr. Katarzyna Stoj (Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellow) received the Best Poster Award in the clinical category, recognizing her outstanding work, excellent presentation skills, and the strong support of her research team.
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Dr. Alexandra Golden (Pediatric Resident) received the Best Poster award in the
Quality/Education/Health Services category, recognizing her hard work, excellent presentation skills, and the strong support of her research team.
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Dr. Kelly Banks (PSTP Trainee) has been named a recipient of the 2026 Marshall Klaus Neonatal-Perinatal Research Award. This recognition, presented by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and supported by the Marshall Klaus Neonatal-Perinatal Research Fund, highlights her contributions to advancing research in neonatal-perinatal medicine.
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| | Dr. Florina Grigore (PSTP Trainee) delivered an excellent presentation and was recognized with a well-deserved Best Poster award in the Basic/Translational Science category. This honor highlights her hard work, strong presentation skills, and the dedicated support of her research team. | | | | Click here to view publications by faculty members published in the last 30 days! | | |
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Dr. Melody Zeng successfully completed the Thought Leadership Training Program in Spring 2026. On behalf of the Office of External Affairs, in partnership with the Office of Professionalism, they are pleased to recognize this achievement. She joins a group of faculty equipped with advanced communication tools to support Weill Cornell Medicine’s mission of educating the public about health, medicine, and science.
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Dr. Christine Salvatore successfully completed the Thought Leadership Training Program in Spring 2026. On behalf of the Office of External Affairs, in partnership with the Office of Professionalism, they are pleased to recognize this achievement. She joins a group of faculty equipped with advanced communication tools to support Weill Cornell Medicine’s mission of educating the public about health, medicine, and science.
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Dr. Sallie Permar commented on a study that links children’s birth diagnosis of congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) to their long-term health outcomes, presented at the 2026 Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Meeting. Read more here!
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| | Residents Katelyn Jackson and Kahmun Lo presented their work at the OneCornell Health Educators Conference at Weill Cornell Medicine on May 16–17, 2026. Katelyn’s poster, “Merging Pediatric Clinical Care to Cross the Payor Divide: Impact on Trainee Medical Education,” and Kahmun’s poster, “Educating Trainees About Long-Term Feeding Tubes in Caring for Children with Medical Complexity,” highlighted important innovations in pediatric education and care. | | | |
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Congratulations to the Pediatrics team for their outstanding performance at the SIM Olympics. Their talent, teamwork, and energy truly showcased the very best of Cornell. Each team member should be proud of this incredible accomplishment.
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| | The Group Peer Mentoring Program (GPM) offers an opportunity for Weill Cornell faculty to develop an individually designed career plan leading to advancement and vitality. GPM consists of 4 day-long, in-person faculty development workshops at WCM. Groups of 8-12 faculty across departments will engage in a structured, career development and leadership curriculum, guided by trained facilitators. In addition, faculty will engage in peer-to-peer mentoring for 60 minutes between sessions, either virtually or in person. Researchers, medical educators, administrators, and clinicians with faculty positions (Instructors, Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, and Professors) are all invited to apply. To apply for the Group Peer Mentoring Program, please complete the application below by Monday, June 1, 2026, at noon. Click here to apply! | | | |
| | The Thought Leadership Training Program is now accepting applications through June 14, 2026, for Fall 2026 and Spring/Summer 2027 sessions. Open to all full-time WCM faculty (with a focus on early-career faculty), this free program offers hands-on training in media interviews, Op-Ed writing, and social media engagement. The three in-person courses total eight hours and are led by WCM communications experts and external professionals. Faculty are encouraged to apply and take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen their public voice in medicine and science. Click here to apply! | | | |
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Join the Faculty Wellness Committee!
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, they meet every other month on Thursdays at noon. Please reach out to Dr. Susan Bostwick for more information.
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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 you draft or edit a blog post. Your personal stories and insights are valuable.
Check out our latest blog, More Than Play: The Hidden Power of Child Life Specialists.
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ICD-10 (Diagnosis) Coding
Importance of Accurate Coding
- Medical Necessity: Proper coding establishes the medical necessity for treatments and interventions.
- Reimbursement: Accurate codes are crucial for ensuring that healthcare providers receive appropriate reimbursement for services rendered.
- Data Collection: Coding helps in the collection of health data, which can be used for research and public health monitoring.
- Risk Adjustment: Accurate documentation and coding are essential for capturing patient complexity under value-based care models, which are becoming more prevalent.
ICD-10 Tips
Be specific: Avoid using unspecified codes (end in 9 or 0). Most unspecified diagnosis codes don’t risk adjust (e.g., ICD-10 code E11 for type 2 diabetes), so use the most specific code possible for each diagnosis (e.g., E11.22 for type 2 diabetes with diabetic chronic kidney disease).
Sign and Symptoms: Sign and symptom codes (R51.9 (Headache, unspecified /R50.9 (Fever, unspecified) should be used when there is no definitive diagnosis. If a specific diagnosis code can be used instead, do that.
Report secondary diagnoses: If you addressed it or if it played a role in managing the other condition that prompted the visit. Report all co-existing conditions and complications (e.g., asthma, obesity, diabetes, transplant) that affect patient care, treatment, or management during an encounter.
Avoid undocumented codes: Provide documentation for diagnoses. If a patient has a diagnosis that you are not documenting/ addressing, do not code for it.
Don’t use “history of” codes for active conditions: If a patient's condition is currently being treated, do not use “history of” codes for that condition. This includes chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart failure, along with cancers.
Use Z Codes: Z codes describe the circumstances surrounding a patient's health and should be added in addition to disease/ symptom codes. They provide essential context for why a patient is seeing a provider, such as:
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Preventative care (vaccinations, annual physicals).
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Aftercare (recovery from surgery).
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Social history (homelessness, unemployment).
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Status (organ donor, carrier of a disease).
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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!
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Hantavirus: What Clinicians Need to Know
This special lecture provides an overview of Hantavirus, equipping clinicians with essential knowledge on its transmission, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management to support timely recognition and patient care.
Date: May 26, 2026
Time: 4-5pm
Location: Zoom
Register here!
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Science Communication Series: Approaching Miscommunication and Skepticism
A session on practical tips for communicating science to counter miscommunication and science skepticism.
Date: May 27, 2026
Time: 3:00pm-4:15pm
Location: Zoom
Register here!
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Department of Pediatrics Fellows’ Acknowledgement & Departmental Awards Celebration
Join us for this year’s Department of Pediatrics Awards Celebration as we come together to announce and honor this year’s recipients, recognize outstanding nominees, and celebrate the achievements and dedication of our fellows and faculty.
Lunch will be served!
Date: June 9, 2026
Time: 12pm-2pm
Location: Weill Greenberg Center- 1305 York Avenue, 2nd Floor, Rooms WGC-A, B, C
RSVP Here!
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Shout-out to Janet Lam and Dakota Koop for the successful PSDP meeting at the AMSPDC Annual Meeting. Their planning brought together scholars and pediatric leaders from across the U.S. and Canada for a meaningful and engaging event. Thank you both for your excellent leadership.
Safak Tulgar, Molly Divis, and Sarah Mac Divis took excellent care of a food allergy patient during an allergic reaction and went above and beyond on HT3!
Shout out to Dr. Nikhil Menon for going above and beyond to ensure a positive experience for a patient’s children throughout their care journey. His warm bedside manner and compassionate approach have made a meaningful difference in their overall healthcare experience.
Shout out to Dr. Lisa Hudgins for providing excellent care to a young patient. The family shared their appreciation for her support, noting that they were able to be seen a few weeks ago and will continue follow-up care with her. They expressed gratitude for the referral and for helping them access the care they needed.
Shout out to the Pediatric ED team for providing exceptional care and creating a positive experience for a young patient. Special recognition to the pediatric resident, Child Life Specialist, and Paul, the x-ray technologist, whose kindness, patience, and compassion helped turn a stressful visit into a memorable and reassuring one.
Drs. Allison Gutman, Juliana Romano and Karen Acker 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!
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