Hackensack University Medical Center Welcomes David M. Walker M.D. as Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine
February 12, 2019
Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center is pleased to welcome David M. Walker M.D. as the division chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital.
"The addition of Dr. Walker to our Pediatric Emergency Medicine team continues our mission to elevate and advance the care we provide to our patients and their families," said Mark D. Sparta, FACHE, president, Hackensack University Medical Center, executive vice president, Population Health, Hackensack Meridian Health. "His dedication to patient care excellence and his vast clinical expertise will undoubtedly serve our medical center well."
Dr. Walker previously served as vice chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine and director of the Pediatric Emergency Department at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens. He also served as the director of the Pediatric Emergency Department at Elmhurst Hospital Center and as an attending physician in Pediatric Emergency Department at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
"On behalf of my team in the Department of Pediatrics, we are thrilled to welcome Dr. Walker to the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital," said Judy Aschner, M.D., clinical director of Hackensack Meridian Health Children’s Care Transformation Service and Marvin I. Gottlieb, M.D., Ph.D. chair of Pediatrics; Physician-in-Chief for the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital; and professor of Pediatrics at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University. "Dr. Walker’s commitment to our patients and their families and his national and international stature in Pediatric Emergency Medicine will enhance the success of our children’s hospital in providing world-class health care."
A graduate of Yale University and Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, Dr. Walker completed a residency program in pediatrics at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. He is board-certified in pediatric emergency medicine.
"I am very pleased to have joined such a prestigious medical center with a team who is committed to making the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital a destination of choice for pediatric care," said Dr. Walker. "I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues throughout the Department of Pediatrics to foster growth in clinical, educational and academic areas, including recruitment initiatives."
Dr. Walker’s academic pursuits focus on the improvement of the quality of emergency care for children around the world. He authored the first article to describe the emerging field of international pediatric emergency medicine and has been invited to speak on this topic at conferences and institutions around the world. During his tenure as a Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Walker served as faculty at the University of Malawi College of Medicine, where he worked to improve the care of child victims of trauma through improved data collection. Dr. Walker is currently assisting in the creation of the inaugural pediatric emergency medicine training program in the Philippines. Additionally, he is an active member of the global health section of many professional organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Academy Emergency Medicine. Dr. Walker recently served as chair of the International Emergency Medicine Section of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Dr. Walker’s publications have appeared in Current Opinion in Pediatrics, the Journal of Emergency Medicine, Emergency Medicine International and the European Journal of Pediatrics. He serves on the editorial boards for the African Journal of Emergency Medicine and Pediatric Emergency Medicine Practice.
About Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center
Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center, a 781-bed nonprofit teaching and research hospital located in Bergen County, NJ, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state. Founded in 1888 as the county’s first hospital, it is now part of one of the largest networks in the state comprised of 33,000 team members and more than 6,500 physicians. Hackensack University Medical Center was listed as one of the top two hospitals in New Jersey in U.S. News & World Report’s 2018-19 Best Hospital rankings. It was also named one of the top five New York Metro Area hospitals. Hackensack University Medical Center is one of only five major academic medical centers in the nation to receive Healthgrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award for five or more years in a row. Becker’s Hospital Review recognized Hackensack University Medical Center as one of the 100 Great Hospitals in America 2018. The medical center is one of the top 25 green hospitals in the country according to Practice Greenhealth, and received 25 Gold Seals of Approval™ by The Joint Commission – more than any other hospital in the country. It was the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet® recognized hospital for nursing excellence; receiving its fifth consecutive designation in 2014. Hackensack University Medical Center has created an entire campus of award-winning care, including: the John Theurer Cancer Center; the Heart & Vascular Hospital; and the Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women’s and Children’s Pavilion, which houses the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital and Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital, which was designed with The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center and listed on the Green Guide’s list of Top 10 Green Hospitals in the U.S. Hackensack University Medical Center is the Hometown Hospital of the New York Giants and the New York Red Bulls and is Official Medical Services Provider to The Northern Trust PGA Golf Tournament. It remains committed to its community through fundraising and community events especially the Tackle Kids Cancer Campaign providing much needed research at the Children’s Cancer Institute housed at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital. To learn more, visit www.HackensackUMC.org.