Weill Cornell Medicine announced that it will establish a Division of Emergency Medicine with NewYork-Presbyterian beginning July 1.
Current division chief, Dr. Rahul Sharma, who has led the Lisa Perry Emergency Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center as emergency physician-in-chief, has been appointed as the department’s inaugural chairman.
“I am pleased to lead the NYP-Emergency Medical Services program, which is the largest hospital-based emergency medical services in New York City,” Sharma said in an email to The Sun.
Dr. Sharma joined Weill Cornell Medicine as an instructor in medicine in 2005 and became an assistant professor of medicine in 2008. He received his M.D./M.B.A. degree in Health Management from Tufts University School of Medicine. He also completed his specialty training in emergency medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital Center as chief resident.
The expansion is an “institutional recognition of increasing importance of emergency medicine as an academic discipline, focusing on research and new fellowship programs,” Sharma said.
Sharma hopes that this will lead to the recruiting of a new cadre of physician-scientists for research grants for investigating digital healthcare, geriatrics, resuscitation medicine and digital healthcare.
“We are planning to expand into training our providers in telemedicine and [have] launched our first telemedicine and digital healthcare elective for WCM medical students as the scope of telemedicine continues to expand,” he said.
NewYork-Presbyterian operates community-based emergency ambulances at NYP-Weill Cornell Medical Center, NYP/Columbia University Medical Center, and across the downstate area at a total of seven locations.
The academic department also is interested in expanding educational and research opportunities for the undergraduate level.