SUNY Downstate Receives Full 5-year Re-accreditation from Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
Jan 13, 2012
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, as a sponsor of medical residency and fellowship programs, has received a full, five-year institutional re-accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), which is responsible for the accreditation of post-MD medical training programs in the United States. Accreditation is accomplished through a peer-review process and is based upon established standards and guidelines.
As part of its mission to provide excellence in education, research, and clinical
care with an emphasis on urban health concerns, SUNY Downstate sponsors graduate medical
education for more than 1,000 residents and fellows in over 50 specialties and subspecialties.
These residents train at Downstate’s University Hospital at Downstate and 32 affiliated
sites.
Ian L. Taylor, MD, PhD, senior vice president for biomedical education and research
and dean of the College of Medicine at SUNY Downstate, said, “I am very pleased that
we have received a full renewal of accreditation of our residency and fellowship training
programs. This vote of confidence from ACGME reflects the outstanding contributions
made by our residents to the health of the people of Brooklyn and the region. They
make us proud. It also testifies to the hard work and dedication to the highest of
standards on the part of our faculty and program directors.”
Stephen Wadowski, MD, associate dean for graduate medical education, noted, “This
is the highest level of accreditation possible and is awarded only to the top-performing
institutions. In granting the re-accreditation, the ACGME Institutional Review Committee
commended SUNY Downstate for being in substantial compliance with institutional standards.”
Several of Downstate’s training programs are among the largest in New York City or
the metropolitan area. For example, Emergency Medicine, Gastroenterology, Neurology,
and the combined Internal Medicine/Emergency Medicine Programs are the largest in
the five boroughs. Pediatrics, with 93 residents, is the largest in the City and second
largest in the metropolitan region. Ophthalmology and Child Neurology are tied for
the largest in the City. In addition, Critical Care Anesthesiology, Pediatric Nephrology,
and Pediatric Pulmonology are one of only three such programs in the City, and Internal
Medicine/Emergency Medicine is one of only two. The Pediatric Endocrine Program has
the greatest number of fellows in the region.
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.