NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, along with its affiliated medical schools Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College, announced its collaboration with the New York Center for Autism to establish the Institute for Brain Development, a comprehensive, state-of-the-art institute dedicated to addressing the pressing clinical needs of individuals living with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disorders of the brain, across their lifespan.

Recognizing its leadership in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has honored NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital with an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award for Sustained Excellence in Energy Management, the energy program's highest honor. It is the fifth time the Hospital has been honored by the EPA — the most of any hospital in the country.

Ushering in a new era in comprehensive cardiac care, the Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center celebrated its opening today at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. Made possible by a $50 million gift from the Vivian and Seymour Milstein family — one of the largest philanthropic gifts in the Hospital's history — the state-of-the-art facility features advanced diagnostic technology and treatments that are frequently less invasive, more accurate, and require less healing time.

The risk for heart-related death is increasing in young adults ages 35 to 54, and the numbers are even more alarming for younger women. It is the number-one cause of death for both men and women in the United States, yet every year since 1984 more women have died of cardiovascular health problems than men, according to the American Heart Association.

With summer fading, anxiety is on the rise for some students anticipating the return of school. But it isn't just the first days of classes that can provoke angst -- anxiety in school is seasonal and age dependent, say pediatric psychiatrists.

A leader in advancing new surgical treatments for congenital heart defects, Dr. Emile Bacha has joined the pediatric cardiac surgery team at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. He has been appointed as director of congenital and pediatric cardiac surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital and professor of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Kevin Hammeran has been appointed senior vice president and chief operating officer of NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital and the Sloane Hospital for Women at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.

Dr. Francesco Rubino, chief of gastrointestinal metabolic surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, is now enrolling overweight and mildly obese patients -- those with a body mass index (BMI) of 28 to 35 -- in a study of gastric bypass surgery aimed at reversing Type 2 diabetes. Because of their non-morbidly obese status, these patients do not qualify for the surgery under current guidelines. Today, gastric bypass, along with other bariatric procedures, can only be prescribed for patients with a BMI of 35 and over.