Program History
The current bi-campus training program is the result of several mergers and realignments over many years. The training program at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center was initiated in 1908. The Cornell-New York Hospital training program graduated its first resident in 1938. In 1988, the independent Cornell Otolaryngology program closed, and a Cornell-New York Hospital rotation was integrated into the Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital (MEETH) training program. MEETH residents rotated at MEETH, Cornell-New York Hospital, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).
In 1999, the Otolaryngology training program at MEETH — which was a well-regarded program with excellent residents — was suddenly and unexpectedly disbanded by the MEETH Board of Directors. Following this, the MEETH residents and affiliated hospitals were absorbed and redistributed between the Otolaryngology training programs at NYU (which assumed the Lenox Hill and MEETH teaching sites) and the Columbia program (which assumed the Weill Cornell and MSKCC sites). Thus, since 1999, the Columbia and Weill Cornell Departments (which remain administratively independent) have shared equally in the administration of the merged Otolaryngology training program, which initially retained the Columbia name. Also, in 1998, the New York Hospital and The Presbyterian Hospital merged to form the New York-Presbyterian (NYP) Hospital, which is a single hospital with two primary campuses - the Weill Cornell campus and the Columbia campus. The merged Otolaryngology residency was a natural fit under the NYP structure and has remained to this day.
When Dr. Michael Stewart became Department Chair at Weill Cornell in 2005, the program was officially renamed the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital — Columbia and Cornell campuses program, with the name reflecting the shared nature of the program. Drs. Stewart and Close also became co-program directors. Dr. Close stepped down as Chair at Columbia in 2012, and Dr. Lawrence Lustig was named the Chair at Columbia and Co-Program Director in 2014.
Because of growth at the Weill Cornell, Columbia, and MSKCC sites, the program was granted on its first application an expansion from three to four residents per year in 2007. As part of that expansion, a second resident rotation at MSKCC, a new rotation at Lincoln Hospital (a Weill Cornell affiliate), and a rotation at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital (a Columbia affiliate) were added. The St. Luke’s-Roosevelt rotation ended in 2009 when their Columbia affiliation ended. The Bronx VA (a Columbia affiliate) was later added in 2016.