Jason Green

Attending the opening of the Komansky Center are, from left: Gerald Loughlin, chairman of pediatrics; Antonio Gotto Jr., dean of Weill Cornell Medical College; David Komansky; Herbert Pardes, president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital; and Phyllis Komansky.

NEW YORK -- "I have a very strong philosophical bent that if you are doing something worthwhile, you should try to be the best at what you're doing," said David Komansky, chairman emeritus of Merrill Lynch and Co.

Komansky has affirmed this aim-high attitude through a gift from him and his wife, Phyllis, that will propel NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center to the forefront of pediatric care, with facilities that are child-friendly in every sense of the word.

The newly named Komansky Center for Children's Health, which was celebrated with an opening-night reception July 27, is designed to meet the special needs of children and families. Visiting hours are a foreign concept here -- families and friends can drop in around the clock, every day. The renovated inpatient units include beds and showers, making it easy for families to stay. An inviting design and soothing décor go a long way toward making a hospital stay less scary.

"We're not just treating a patient, we're treating a whole family," said Cynthia Sparer, the center's executive director.

To create a "hospital within a hospital" for comprehensive pediatric care, the Komanskys' gift was used to renovate the pediatric emergency room this summer, including expanded facilities for asthma treatment, and will bring updates to the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, procedural rooms, surgical units and pediatric inpatient units. A new pediatric procedure facility will have two state-of-the-art rooms for children with the latest technology for performing endoscopies and bronchoscopies, as well as separate waiting and recovery areas.

The Komanskys also helped establish a pediatric cranial facial program and dental health program, expanding the medical center's capabilities in pediatric care.

Herbert Pardes, president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian, recalled being hospitalized at the age of 7 for an orthopedic condition in surroundings decidedly unfriendly to children. The experience, burned into his mind, rendered him acutely receptive to the Komanskys' vision of a family-oriented center.

"The Komanskys are as caring, supportive and empathic a family as one can possibly imagine," Pardes said.

Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) is working with the hospital to recruit the best physicians and scientists for the Komansky Center -- in neonatology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, child development and infectious disease.

"This gift will transform the pediatric facilities of the medical college," said Antonio Gotto, dean of WCMC. "There's something special about the health of a child, an emotional tug that appeals to all of us -- parents, doctors, friends, everyone."