Dear Doctor,

Congratulations and may I welcome you warmly into the St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center residency/fellowship training programs.

While all of the physicians recruited into our training programs have already demonstrated some of their knowledge and skills, this next phase of your professional development will call on you to learn:

• managing patients,
• keeping up-to-date in your medical knowledge,
• communicating with patients and their families as well as other health professionals,
• using your own practice as a guide toward self improvement and better patient outcomes,
• professionalism and professional behavior, and
• effective utilization of multidisciplinary teams in the management of your patients.

The St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center is committed to your training and education. I have been personally charged by the President of the Hospital Center with ensuring that we provide the infrastructural support, the personnel, the facilities and the resources necessary to conduct smooth, goal oriented and outcome tested training programs. The offices of the Graduate Medical Education Department and your training program will be at your disposal over the next few months as you complete your files and make ready to embark on your career.

You are joining a house staff rich in history and tradition. A 1979 merger of three hospitals; St. Luke's Hospital, founded in 1846, Woman's Hospital, established in 1855 for the "treatment of diseases peculiar to women" and Roosevelt Hospital, chartered in 1864 and dedicated to "the reception and relief of sick and diseased persons." Many of our training programs had their origins in the 1940’s. Since 1997 we have been a member of the Continuum Health Partners (CHP) along with such other prestigious New York Hospitals like Beth Israel, Long Island College Hospital and the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary. St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center maintains a strong academic affiliation with the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and hosts a dramatic array of resources for the provision of state-of-the-art and compassionate care. Our mission is to provide:

• Outstanding health care to meet the needs of the Hospital Center's West Side Community and broader community of patients who utilize the services of the Hospital Center. Such care is provided without discrimination, including care of the poor, while recognizing the limitations of the resources of the Hospital Center.
• Highest-quality education of health care professionals.
• Research to further medical knowledge and develop excellence in the delivery of health care.

In closing, I want to reaffirm the medical center’s commitment to your training and education. Strict compliance with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the American Dental Association (ADA), the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and the Joint Commision on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and our full cooperation with the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) as well as our own mission of excellent care, training and research assures you that these years will be the most fulfilling of your career.

Very best of luck and please do not hesitate to contact us for assistance of any kind.

Yours,

Ethan D. Fried, MD, MSc, FACP
Director, Graduate Medical Education