The Division of Allergy/Immunology/Pulmonology has experienced consistent growth and expansion over the eight years that Dr. David Valacer has been Director. There have been new initiatives in the care of cystic fibrosis patients; the establishment of educational activities; and the participation in several clincal trials for the treatment of respiratory disease.
The Division has three full-time faculty members. Dr. Valacer is board certified in Allergy/Clinical Immunology and Pediatric Pulmonology, Dr. Mary DiMaio is board certified in Pediatric Pulmonology and Dr. Lynelle Granady is board certified in Allergy/Clinical Immunology and presently training in Pediatric Pulmonology.
In addition to the full-time faculty the Division has a full-time nurse clinician, a full-time respiratory therapist and two fellows-in-training. The Division has affiliations with dietary services and social work services in its comprehensive clinical programs and with Dr. Susanna Cunningham-Rundles in its fellowship and laboratory research programs.
CLINICAL PROGRAMS:
The Division has established itself as a
Center of clinical excellence in the care of childrenās respiratory diseases,
especially asthma. By combining the expertise of the subspecialties
of allergy/clinical immunology and pulmonology, the Division provides high
quality, comprehensive care to a large outpatient and inpatient population.
Outreach programs at Terence Cardinal Cooke Hospital, the Hospital for
Special Surgery, and the Family Health Center of Western Queens have increased
the utilization of this hospital facility for emergency, intensive care,
and general hospital services.
The Division has led the development of an inpatient asthma critical pathway and a unique inpatient asthma management service which has succeeded in reducing length of stay for pediatric asthma admissions to the Pediatric medicine service.
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
The Division maintains an active clinical
research program collaborating with major pharmaceutical companies in Phase
II, III, and IV clinical research trials. Faculty also collaborates
within and without the medical college in a variety of clinical research
trials. In late 1998, the division collaborated with the Divisions
of Adult and Pediatric Pulmonology in a successful application to the American
Lung Association to be a designated Asthma Clinical Research site in a
new nationwide network.
EDUCATION
The Division maintains ACGME-accredited
training programs in Allergy/ Clinical Immunology and Pediatric Pulmonology
and is one of only a few programs in the United States that offers pediatricians
the opportunity to pursue a completely integrated, four year conjoint training
program in allergy/immunology/pediatric pulmonology. Through affiliation
with Dr. Susanna Cunningham-Rundles our fellows receive excellent immunology
laboratory and bench research exposure.
The Division contributes to medical student
training by participating as a mandatory clinic rotation for all medical
students during their ambulatory pediatric experience. The Division
contributes to Pediatric Residency Training by providing a popular elective
rotation, by maintaining an active inpatient and consult service, and by
providing sessions in pulmonary function test performance and interpretation
as part of the ambulatory clinic rotation experience.