Burn Center director Dr. Roger Yurt (left) with Dr. Antonio Gotto (right), dean of the Medical College, and Dr. Herbert Pardes (center), president of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, at the 25th anniversary dinner.
The Burn Center at NewYork Weill Cornell Medical Center, the busiest burn center in the nation, marked its 25th anniversary with a scientific symposium and dinner celebration held on Sept. 17.
The first full-service, comprehensive burn center in the New York metropolitan area, the Burn Center was established in 1976 through the cooperative efforts of the New York City Fire Department and The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. It quickly became one of the leading burn centers in the world, and has made major advances in patient care, research and education—resulting in significantly better outcomes for those with severe burn injuries. To date, the Burn Center has treated more than 18,000 patients.
From left: Robert Frehse Jr., executive director of the Hearst Foundation; Dr. Roger Yurt, director of the Burn Center; Frank Bennack, vice chairman of the Hearst Corp. and a trustee of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital; and Victor Ganzi, president and CEO of the Hearst Corp.
In 1998, the Burn Center was named the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center in recognition of the generous support provided by the Hearst Foundation.
At the anniversary dinner, special acknowledgement was given to the important support that the Burn Center has received from generous benefactors. Dinner guests included donors, symposium participants, faculty and staff of the Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, patients and their families, and members of the FDNY and the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation. Lauren Manning, one of 18 survivors of the World Trade Center attacks who were patients in the Burn Center, expressed the gratitude of all the patients whose lives have been saved by the dedication and commitment of the Burn Center's multidisciplinary staff. She summed it up in three words: "I love you."
The scientific symposium, the First Annual Burn and Trauma Symposium, included 13 presentations on the history of the Burn Center, current topics in burn care and research, cultural diversity training for staff, and the treatment of the severely burned survivors of the World Trade Center.
Former burn center patients Lauren Manning (second from left), who is a survivor of the World Trade Center attacks, and Natasha Austin (far right) with Greg Manning, Lauren's husband, and Dr. Yurt.
David Herndon (left), chief of staff at Shriners Children's Hospital (Texas), who participated in the Burn Center symposium; Geoffrey O'Sullivan, surgical assistant at the Burn Center; and James Curran, president of the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation.
