Community & General Pediatrics
Community & General clinicians not only examine patients, but work with other providers, trainees, nurses and the entire care team to ensure comprehensive solutions for every patient and their family, as Nurse Practitioner Cilymol Abraham, APRN, DNP, CPNP, demonstrates.
The Division of Community and General Pediatrics provides exceptional patient-centered care and top-notch education founded in evidence-based medicine to help our young patients grow and develop within their family and community. In the Department of Pediatrics, this robust team leads the majority of student teaching at numerous inpatient and outpatient locations throughout the Greater Houston area.
Community and General clinicians care for inpatient general pediatric patients at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and TIRR Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center as well as Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Hospital operated by Harris Health. Additionally, this division is involved with a variety of clinical research projects including immunizations, child development, child safety, and other areas of clinical care.
Dr. McKay’s expertise makes her a top choice for public relations and media as she’s been featured on podcasts, news casts and quoted in numerous publications. She was also inducted into the McGovern Medical School Academy of Master Educators in 2024.
This intimate connection to the community brings patients’ needs — both medical and non-medical — to the forefront of the practice. Division Chief Sandy McKay, MD, FAAP, champions child well-being through injury prevention and sets this as a norm within the division. Dr. McKay’s work with Target Safety, a coalition to prevent firearm-related injury, and accompanying research projects like the Pediatric Population Health Initiative and the Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program have brought various entities together to prioritize child health and safety in our region.
Dr. Sandy McKay, third from left on back row, is an experienced child advocate very familiar with the legislative process and brings the next generation of advocates to the Capitol each year.
Community and General Pediatrics is a hub for community engaged research, resource coordination and advocacy in many platforms. Each year, Dr. McKay and several other faculty lead a trip to the Capitol for Advocacy Day. The senior physicians guide residents to interact with legislators and give testimony on behalf of Texas children as part of the Community Health and Advocacy in Pediatrics (CHAP) rotation, which sets trainees up to be well-rounded pediatricians.
For Community and General physicians, treatment plans tend to take a holistic view of health. Taking a collaborative approach with families, this team harnesses medical expertise and community resources to pursue evidence based solutions to promote the health of the child and family.