Congratulations and Welcome
Peter Belamarich MD named Vice Chair, Affiliate and Network Relations for the Department of Pediatrics at Einstein and CHAM; Patricia Hametz MD, MPH named Chief, Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at Einstein and CHAM
Peter Belamarich, MD will assume the role of Vice Chair for Affiliate and Network Relations in the Department of Pediatrics at Montefiore/Einstein. Dr. Belamarich has served CHAM in numerous leadership roles, most recently as Division Chief of Academic General Pediatrics and before that as Director of the Pediatric Ambulatory Subspecialty Services (PASS). These roles and his on going leadership as Medical Director of the MMG Comprehensive Family Care Center (CFCC) have superbly prepared him to take on this important new leadership role for the department. As Vice Chair for Affiliate and Network Relations, Dr. Belamarich will promote the health of the children in our region by connecting our primary care colleagues and our growing network of affiliated hospitals with CHAM’s nationally recognized medical and surgical subspecialty services and pediatric expertise.
Dr. Belamarich received his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine. He completed pediatric residency followed by a chief residency year at Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, following which he pursued a fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, in New York. Dr. Belamarich was recruited to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in 1990 and was promoted to Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in 1997. At Einstein and CHAM, Dr. Belamarich returned to the practice of General Pediatrics, retaining a clinical and academic interest in non-procedural gastroenterology, including nutrition, lipid disorders, cardiovascular health, obesity, and infant formula. His extensive knowledge of pediatrics has won him accolades and awards as a master clinician and educator, including the Lewis M. Fraad, M.D. Award for Excellence in Resident Teaching in 2010. Within general pediatrics, his interests include the diagnostic process, diagnostic errors, the practice of general pediatrics, well-child care, the application of evidence-based medicine to pediatric practice, and the use of electronic health records. Nationally, Dr. Belamarich has been a regular panel member of the FDA orphan drug review process. He was recently appointment to the Editorial Board of Pediatrics in Review.
Patricia Hametz, MD has assumed the role of Division Chief, Pediatric Hospital Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at Montefiore/Einstein. Dr. Hametz joins us from Columbia University Medical Center where she was Associate Professor in Pediatrics and Attending Physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Hametz received her MD from Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons (1995). She remained at Columbia for Pediatric Internship and Residency (1998), followed by a chief resident year (1999) at Babies & Children’s Hospital (New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital). In 2008, she received an MPH from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Dr. Hametz has held numerous leadership positions during her 25 year academic career at Columbia, including her most recent positions as Associate Director, Division of Child and Adolescent Health, a position she has held since 2011, and Director of the Columbia Children’s Complex Care Program. In these roles she oversaw clinical operations across general pediatrics, adolescent medicine, hospital medicine, developmental behavioral pediatrics, child abuse, well baby nursery and newborn clinic. She is co-Founder and Steering Committee member of the New York City Pediatric Hospital Medicine Forum. She is a nationally recognized leader and mentor in the field of pediatric hospital medicine, has won numerous teaching awards and has been acknowledged as a champion of family and patient centered care. She has served as principle investigator and co-investigator on grants from the New York State ECRIP, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) with research focusing on childhood obesity prevention and safety and quality in the care of hospitalized children.
