The Pediatric Department is comprised of faculty from New York Medical College who are experts in the care of children hospitalized with moderate to severe illnesses, or with illnesses that involve the coordination of multiple subspecialists or multiple hospital services.
The Section of Academic General Pediatrics provides comprehensive inpatient care for patients referred to the Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, and then facilitates the seamless transfer of information back to the referring doctor when patients are discharged. Our staff also provide general pediatric consultations to subspecialists and surgeons whose pediatric patients have medical issues such as fevers, poor weight gain and mild to moderate respiratory issues.
Complementary Pediatric Care Services
In addition to comprehensive pediatric care, other unique services and programs are provided by the General Pediatrics Section:
- Complementary and Alternative Pediatric Therapies
- Westchester Institute for Human Development
- Medical student and resident education and mentorship
- Primary care research
- Evaluation and management of autism
- Grant-supported research on childhood obesity
- Child abuse education and prevention
Our Pediatric Care Team
General Pediatrics
Robin Altman, MD (Section Chief)
Robert Amler, MD
Dori Anchin, MD
Howard Barenfeld, MD
Jennifer Canter, MD
Angela Coultman, MD
Lara Gordon, MD
Elissa Gross, DO
Andrew Hannes, MD
Theresa Hetzler, MD
Vicki Iannotti, MD
Fern Juster, MD
Jennifer Koestler, MD
Rebekka Levis, DO
Chrisia Livanios Noulas, MD
Maria Lombardi, DO
Maria McKenna, MD
Caroline Moon, MD
Yardaena Osband, MD
Dinabel Peralta-Reich, MD
Jennifer (Nejame) Scherr, MD
Harvey Seigerman, MD
Lori Semel, MD
Amishi Shah, MD
Romina Wancier, MD
Moneeka Zaman, MD
Learn More About Pediatrics at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital
For information about our comprehensive care, or to obtain a physician referral, please call 866.962.7337
Medication Administration
We aim to increase the percentage of patients discharged on medications from the general pediatrics units at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital who have their prescribed discharge medications delivered to the bedside by 20 percent over baseline by December 2023.
The initial results of this project point to several key takeaways:
1. Insurance discrepancies prevent close to 40 percent of MFCH pediatric patients from utilizing the hospital’s bedside delivery service.
2. 50 percent of patients received their medications by Day 4, and another 20 percent by Day 6.
3. Parents and guardians are excited about the delivery service, which encourages prescriber use and suggests potential for an increase in guardian satisfaction.
We extend our deepest thanks to the families who took the time to speak with us in the hospital. In acknowledgment of their generosity and willingness to help, we remain dedicated to creating an improved system that best serves our patients and their guardians.
Currently, this project is being expanded to inform the agenda of Westchester Medical Center and Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital’s Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Committee. We will evaluate new ways to increase bedside delivery service usage and explore options to cover existing insurance gaps. Our goal is to ensure that patients of all backgrounds and financial means are able to obtain and fully understand the medications prescribed to them.
Hand Hygiene
The data shown below demonstrates hand hygiene that is broken down by those who used alcohol preparation compared against those who used soap and water. The percentage reflects the total number of hand-washers and is utilized by our quality teams to identify areas for targeted process improvement initiatives.
