McKay honored for advocacy, named pediatric society president-elect
Sandra McKay, MD, professor and chief of the Division of General Academic Pediatrics at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, has received a Special Achievement Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics and has been named president-elect of the Texas Pediatric Society.
The award recognizes McKay for her exceptional leadership as co-chair of the Texas Pediatric Society’s Executive Legislative Committee and her advocacy to advance children’s health and protect children from firearm injuries.
McKay served as co-chair of the committee for six years, helping guide the society’s advocacy priorities through several legislative sessions, special sessions, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For me, it was an incredible opportunity to help shape the policy priorities for children during some of the most influential times in Texas,” McKay said. “We navigated the policy landscape through the pandemic, and through multiple sessions and special sessions, with the north star of keeping children healthy and safe.”
McKay’s advocacy is closely connected with her research in firearm injury prevention, where she focuses on practical approaches to reducing injuries and deaths.
Her work includes studying ways to help families identify secure firearm storage options that meet their needs and developing a statewide network to support temporary, out-of-home firearm storage as a strategy to reduce firearm suicide among families and veterans.
McKay also co-leads a hospital-based violence intervention program that brings together healthcare professionals and community partners to support patients affected by violence and connect them with needed resources.
“By partnering with the community and connecting patients to much-needed resources, we can work collectively to reduce firearm violence in our region,” McKay said.
McKay said her research grew out of a desire to find ways to help others and prevent injuries.
“I did not seek out to become a firearm researcher,” she said. “Instead, I simply continue to focus on how we can best help others, put children first, and reduce injury. It is passion work.”
McKay said the Special Achievement Award reflects not only her own efforts but also those of the colleagues, advocates, and community partners she has worked alongside throughout her career.
“I am honored and humbled, but it reflects the collaborations with so many others over the years who all have the shared mission of prioritizing children,” McKay said. “It has been incredible to work with so many strong advocates, and I am excited to be recognized by the academy for this work.”
McKay will serve a one-year term as president-elect of the Texas Pediatric Society before becoming president of the organization. The new role builds on six years of leadership with the society’s executive legislative committee and her broader advocacy work across Texas.