One of the nation's leading prostate cancer specialists, Dr. Mitchell C. Benson has been appointed Chairman of the Department of Urology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S) and Urologist-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia. Dr. Benson is the George F. Cahill Professor of Urology at P&S, a professorship established in 1957 to honor the former chairman of the Department of Urology. He is also attending physician and Director of Urologic Oncology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia.

In a successful procedure today at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Pavilion, a robot for the first time functioned as an independent assistant to the surgical team by handing and retrieving surgical instruments. The robot performed all of its assigned functions properly, a key validation of this important new technology and a dramatic demonstration of the potential for automation in the operating room.

Addressing a substantial need for mental and behavioral health care evaluation and treatment, elementary school students are treated by specialists onsite at 11 elementary schools in Washington Heights, Inwood, and Central Harlem, as part of the School-Based Mental Health Programs provided by the Pediatric Psychiatry Service at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian. The programs are conducted in concert with the New York City Department of Education and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and receive support from several local foundations. Beginning in July, the programs will be expanded to serve approximately 625 children at 13 school sites.