Foundation History
In 1991, the New York District of Kiwanis International and its Foundation agreed to form an alliance with the North Shore University Hospital to create the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center (KPTC), the only one of its kind in the region. North Shore, now known as Northwell Health, operates several hospitals including the Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park.
After much research and numerous meetings of Kiwanis officials along with doctors and staff of the hospital, through the efforts of Dr. Edward Pierce, then Lt. Gov. of Long Island North Division, and a select committee chaired by Past Kiwanis International President Anton J. "Tony" Kaiser, the 1990-91 District Board under Gov. Ralph J. Vasami, approved an alliance with the hospital and to undertake Pediatric Trauma as an on going District Project. Officially dedicated during October 1991, promotion and implementation of the project began during the term of 1991-92 Gov. Alfred J. Bevilaqua to insure that the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center would become a reality.
The alliance between Kiwanis, an internationally renowned community service organization, and the Manhasset-based tertiary-care teaching hospital, created a humane and financially viable service care which began functioning immediately. Its major components are sophisticated medical care, education aimed at both the professional and the lay community, and a Kiwanis-established support mechanism for the child's family.
The medical components at North Shore University Hospital were already in place. A designated area in the institution's Emergency Department treated seriously injured children and was equipped for sophisticated pediatric trauma care. A full-time core of pediatric specialists, supported by pediatric residents and fellows, along with an outstanding attending physician roster, provides any and all needed treatment. This roster included pediatric neurologists and neurosurgeons, trauma surgeons, orthopedists, anesthesiologists, emergency specialists, and critical-care physicians. Many of the severely injured children treated are transferred from primary and secondary community hospitals for their treatment.
In 2013, Northwell Health moved its pediatric programs to the Cohen Children's Medical Center in Manhasset, which is part of the Northwell health system.
The KPTC's commitment to these children is not solely to provide optimum medical care. Kiwanis, in conjunction with Cohen Children's Medical Center, conducts educational programs and has created a family-support network. Campaigns to prevent injuries to children are undertaken by many involved Kiwanis clubs, and Cohen's has initiated educational programs geared to Emergency Medical Service personnel. In addition, Kiwanis clubs have established committees in their own communities to provide practical help to families of injured children.
In 2016, the Foundation membership agreed to change the foundation's legal name to Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center Foundation. Following that vote, the foundation's board voted to widen its service opportunities to any Level One trauma centers operate in Long Island, New York City, Westchester, and the lower Hudson Valley. That led in 2017 to the addition of Stony Brook Children’s Hospital to the foundation's area of service.