Editor's Corner

Our Health Care Mission

A message from
Dr. Ralph D. Feigin
President, Baylor College of Medicine and Chairman, Department of Pediatrics

To paraphrase Hubert Humphrey, the moral test of a medical school is how it treats those who are most vulnerable. Certainly children are among those, and part of the mission of Baylor College of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics is to advocate for children’s health.

Our advocacy starts very early – often before the child is born. In the Baylor Teen Clinics, young mothers are encouraged to practice healthy lifestyles so that they can give birth to healthy babies. Women with high-risk pregnancies receive special care from Baylor doctors in the clinics of the Harris County Hospital District and our other outpatient programs. The goal? A healthy baby.

Neonatal nurseries at Ben Taub General and Texas Children’s hospitals are staffed by Baylor newborn specialists who take those born too young, too soon, and too sick through the perilous first few days or months of life to give them the best start possible.

As children grow, we are there to see them through the ups and downs of life. Whether it is a broken bone from an athletic event, a serious injury in a car wreck, a diagnosis of cancer, or any of a number of other illnesses that are treated by one of our many pediatricians.

Our professional efforts, however, are not always enough. That is why you will see Baylor pediatricians advocating for children’s health insurance, calling for more immunizations and alerting the community to new childhood health threats.

Our mission of providing care to children is indeed a multi-faceted mission. I take great pride in knowing that together, we accomplish that mission each and every day.