About the PDC

The New York City Pediatric Disaster Coalition (NYC PDC) was founded in 2008 under the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) to ensure a coordinated response to a large-scale disaster affecting children. The PDC is comprised of experts in emergency preparedness, pediatric critical care, surgery, emergency medicine, and representatives from the Health Department, Emergency Management, and Fire Department. Funded by the Health Department, the PDC continually works to enhance the planning and emergency response capabilities of New York City hospitals, agencies and community members on behalf of the city’s two million children (22% of the city’s population) and their families.

For more information on what we’ve been up to, see the PDC Fact Sheet.

Staff

George Foltin, MD
Principal Investigator
George is currently the Vice Chair for Clinical Services for the Department of Pediatrics at Maimonides Infants and Children’s Hospital of Brooklyn and Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Downstate School of Medicine. Previously, George was Director of the Center for Pediatric Emergency Medicine of the New York University School of Medicine and Chief of Pediatric Emergency Services. Dr. Foltin is Board Certified in Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine and Pediatric Emergency Medicine. Among numerous committee activities, he is the Chairperson of the AAP District II Committee on Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMS), Chairperson of the NYC Task Force on Terrorism Preparedness for Children and Founding President of the New York Society for Pediatric Emergency Medicine. George is also Co-Principal Investigator on the Pediatric Disaster Mental Health Intervention (PDMHI) initiative.

Since 1985, Dr. Foltin has published extensively in the field of Emergency Medical Services for Children and Pediatric Disaster Preparedness. He serves as a consultant to the New York City and State Departments of Health, as well as to Federal programs such as the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness Response office and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. During his tenure at Bellevue Hospital Center, George developed the first Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship in the State of New York and has been very involved with the education of medical students, residents and fellows and prehospital providers.

Michael Frogel, MD
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Michael Frogel is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an attending Pediatrician at Cohen Children’s Medical Center. Recently, Dr. Frogel was appointed the Chairman of the National Pediatric Disaster Coalition and a subject matter expert for the National Advisory Committee on Children in Disasters.

Sofia Rivera-Perez
PDC Project Coordinator
Sofia obtained her Masters in Public Health (MPH) with a concentration in community health science and practice from New York University. Through her Masters program she completed various courses focused on disaster preparedness and response tactics. This included studying behavioral communication strategies for global epidemics with UNICEF in Lebanon and attending IPRED, an international conference for disaster and emergency response. In the field Sofia completed her applied practice with FEMA Region II to develop draft protocol and considerations for vulnerable populations in New York City.

John Jermyn
PDC Project Director
In addition to his work with PDC, John is an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in the NYC 911 system at Maimonides Medical Center. John graduated from Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, NY, and attended the University at Albany, State University of New York. John attended graduate school at John Jay College of Criminal Justice earning a master’s degree in emergency management. Prior to joining the PDC, John gained valuable professional exposure during college both with internships and employment at several governmental organizations including the New York City Health + Hospitals Corporation, the New York City Office of Emergency Management, the New York State Division of the Budget, the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies and the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

Art Cooper, MD
Co-Investigator
Dr. Cooper was educated at Harvard College, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Montefiore-Einstein Center for Bioethics. He was trained in general surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and in pediatric surgery and surgical critical care at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is also certified in disaster medicine by the American Board of Disaster Medicine, of which he is a founding member and current Chair, in emergency medical services by the American Board of Emergency Medicine, and in bioethics and medical humanities by the Montefiore-Einstein Center for Bioethics. He is Professor Emeritus of Surgery and Special Lecturer in Surgery at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and serves as Director of Pediatric Surgical Services, Director of the Regional Trauma Center, Medical Director of Injury Prevention Program, and Co-Director of the Child Protection Team for the Columbia University Medical Center Academic Affiliation at Harlem Hospital. He is Vice Chair of the Medical Society of the State of NY Task Force on Bioterrorism and Emergency Preparedness, and a founding member of the NYC Pediatric Disaster Coalition Central Leadership Council.