General Pediatrics

The anchor program of the Division is the General Pediatrics Group Practice (GPGP), a model faculty practice and the largest provider of care to children in northern Manhattan. Established in 1978 as a small hospital based practice, GPGP has evolved into the largest single provider of pediatric primary care in northern Manhattan. Staffed by over 30 full-time faculty and 60 pediatric housestaff, the GPGP provides primary care to more than 16,000 children generating over 64,000 visits per year. These ambulatory services take place in five community practices operated by the Ambulatory Care Network of New York Presbyterian Hospital. GPGP attendings provide continuity of care across the ambulatory and inpatient settings. GPGP is recognized as an outstanding model for urban pediatric primary care. The attending physicians are the core faculty for the resident continuity clinics and the inpatient service of Children’s Hospital of New York.

General Pediatric Group Practices

Audubon
21 Audubon Avenue
New York, NY 10032
Telephone # 212 342-3200
Fax: 212 342-4733

Broadway
4781 Broadway
New York, NY 10034
Telephone # 212 304-6922
Fax: 212 304-6925

Washington Heights Family Health Center
575 West 181^st Street
New York, NY 10032
Telephone # 212 342-3060
Fax: 212 342-6010

Charles B. Rangel Community Health Center
534 West 135^th Street
New York, NY 10031
Telephone # 212 491-2311
Fax 212 491-2323

Child Advocacy Center

Established in 1995, the Child Advocacy Center is the first hospital based center for the evaluation and treatment of child maltreatment in New York City. The Center is recognized for expertise in the medical diagnosis of child sexual abuse. The Center uses an inter-agency approach, working with the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, law enforcement agencies, the District Attorney, educators and other professionals. The bilingual staff of social workers and pediatricians conduct forensic evaluations for cases of physical and sexual abuse and meets monthly with the larger multi-disciplinary team for case conferences. The Center has developed an expertise in the evaluation for child abuse that is recognized by the new York City Family and Criminal Courts.

Children living in impoverished urban communities are at increased risk of language delay. Early literacy activities have been shown to lead to improved language development and school readiness. Reach Out and Read, an early literacy project that began at Boston City Hospital, has evolved into a national movement. It has three simple ingredients: 1) pediatric providers promote early literacy as part of the everyday pediatric practice, 2) children between the ages of six months and six years receive a developmentally-appropriate book at each well-child visit, and 3) volunteers read books in the waiting room to engage young children and model reading aloud to parents. In 1997, the Division of General Pediatrics established Reach Out and Read in the pediatric primary care practices of New York Presbyterian Hospital. Our program is one of the largest in New York City and in the country.

Best Beginnings is a Healthy Families of America home visitation program for high-risk families. Best Beginnings is unique in its focus on urban, Latino, immigrant families. The goal of the program is primary prevention of child abuse and neglect and building healthy families. Paraprofessionals provide home visitations services, link families to community resources, and teach parents about positive parent-child interaction. Alianza Dominican, a large social service agency focused on the needs of the Dominican community, is the lead agency responsible for Best Beginnings. This program is operated in partnership with General Pediatrics at Columbia University. The research team of Best Beginnings recently completed a randomized trail.

Columbia University Head Start was founded as a partnership with General Pediatrics and the Mailman School of Public Health in 1992. Head Start provides home-based services to high-risk Latino children in northern Manhattan. The families receive weekly home visits and center based services. Early Head Start is a relatively new initiative that operates in conjunction with two community based pediatric practices of the GPGP. The services emphasize parent-child attachment, child health and development and adult vocational development. With support from the Mulago Foundation, Head Start and Early Head Start assist families with achieving economic self-sufficiency. Parents identify their goals and learn job readiness skills.

HSHF is a child centered and family focused multi-partner initiative piloted in five New York City elementary schools. The program ensures every child has health insurance, receives up to date immunization and screening, and has access to coordinated medical and social services to address chronic conditions and high-risk behaviors.

The Public School 128 Partnership was the model program for the Healthy School Healthy Families Program. The PS 128 partnership began as an innovative model for elementary school health. PS 128 is one of the largest elementary schools in New York City with over 1,500 children enrolled. The partnership is a collaborative program of Columbia University General Pediatrics, the School of Public Health and the administration of Public School 128. This program uses a consult liaison model to address unmet health needs for students at this large elementary school. The partnership is guided by these objectives 1) help the school staff understand complicated medical issues and coordinate a plan to optimize learning for the child 2) communicate with the primary medical provider to understand how the medical problem affects school performance and coordinate a plan with the school staff 3) help families identify health services within the community 4) provide case management for children with on-going complicated health issues.

The Injury and Violence Prevention Center at Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian is one of fifteen national sites in the Injury Free Coalition for Kids funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Childhood injuries—both intentional and unintentional—are significant causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Unintentional injuries continue to be the leading cause of death among children and teenagers. Trends of childhood injuries in the Washington Heights and Northern Manhattan community reflect the national epidemic. In collaboration with the Pediatric Trauma Service of CHONYPH, the Injury and Violence Prevention Center has the established the following goals 1) decrease the number of injuries, and resultant morbidity and mortality, to children of Washington Heights, and 2) promote safe neighborhoods, activities and lifestyles for the children.

Lang Youth Medical Program is a science education program at New York Presbyterian Hospital for middle school students from the local community entering the 7th grade. Participation extends through 12th grade. The program will encourage and prepare students for further education and careers in health care. On Saturdays during the school year and for four weeks during the summer, students will participate in hands-on science activities and experiments at the Hospital. Faculty and staff from the Health Science campus will work with the students and serve as mentors. There is a competitive application process for the selection of families.

Funded in December 2005, the WIN for Asthma coalition is a partnership between Community Pediatrics, the Mail Schools of Public Health’s Asthma Basics for Children program and multiple community agencies in Northern Manhattan with the goal of improving resources available to children with asthma, especially children with poorly controlled asthma.