Expanding Access to Specialized Care for Children with Complex ENT Conditions

Acclaimed pediatric airway specialist Christina J. Yang, MD, has joined NYU Langone Health as chief of the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology and lead for Pediatric Otolaryngology Services at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone.

Dr. Yang previously served as director of the Aerodigestive Program at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore. In addition to her expertise in primary and revision airway surgery and pediatric dysphagia, she brings extensive experience in executing large quality improvement initiatives. She currently leads the multi-institutional Prevention of Errors in Acute Conditions in Kids (PEAK)-II Trach collaborative, which advances pediatric tracheostomy safety, quality, and emergency preparedness through simulation.

Here, she discusses her commitment to delivering comprehensive specialized care for children with complex ENT conditions and highlights her goals for advancing quality improvement research.

Physician Focus: What inspired you to accept a position at NYU Langone?

Dr. Yang: I was drawn to the opportunity to lead the growing pediatric otolaryngology division. Our team has a strong pediatric aerodigestive program with a history of performing complex procedures, including collaborating with cardiothoracic and pediatric surgery teams.

For 10 years, I was the director of the Pediatric Dysphagia Program at Montefiore and also led the pediatric aerodigestive team there. For programs to be successful, it’s important to have strong multidisciplinary and interprofessional collaboration not only with other physicians but with speech and swallow therapists, social work teams, and other family-centered resources.

Having been in New York for a decade, I have worked with several team members over the years who are now at NYU Langone. I look forward to collaborating with them again and with new colleagues to expand services that complement existing programs and to ensure access to the highest quality care for children with complex otolaryngologic needs.

Physician Focus: What are your top goals as chief of the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology?

Dr. Yang: My previous clinical and academic experience has given me valuable insight into what can be achieved with the right team and the right strategy. I am drawing on that experience to enhance multidisciplinary collaboration and advance our clinical and research programs by supporting each faculty’s subspecialty interest and expertise. We have an exceptional team, and I want to get the word out to patients, families, and referring providers that they have our support across both general and complex pediatric otolaryngology cases.

Moreover, with the support of NYU Langone leadership, the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology has doubled in size in the past few months, which is another reason I’m excited to be here.

Physician Focus: As part of your quality improvement work, you lead the PEAK-II Trach simulation research team. Tell us about this effort.

Dr. Yang: This work leverages simulation to enhance preparedness for airway emergencies at the clinician team and hospital systems levels and improve outcomes for patients. We recreate realistic airway emergencies using an infant manikin with a tracheostomy and observe the initial response from the frontline clinical provider teams.

These fire drills are important for assessing and maintaining excellent performance and identifying gaps related to pediatric tracheostomy management before an event. They also contribute to the wider understanding of the time-critical tasks and systems factors involved in the practical implementation of evidence-based practices for tracheostomy care in clinical settings.

We just shared our research as a Best of Scientific Orals Presentation at the annual AAO-HNS meeting, revealing the prevalence of delays and errors in time-critical actions, including suction and tube replacement, as well as associations between these actions and systems factors. We are currently collaborating with 15 other children’s hospitals, with support from the inaugural RBaby-INSPIRE Research Award and INSPIRE Accelerate program.

There is a major opportunity to leverage the simulation research and quality improvement infrastructure here at NYU Langone as we expand the number of sites. I am thrilled to work at a center that prioritizes specialized pediatric otolaryngology care through the Sala Institute for Child and Family Centered Care and continues to lead in simulation research through NYSIM.

Physician Focus: To support your quality improvement and patient safety initiatives, you have pursued continued educational training. Can you tell us more about that and how it will impact your work here?

Dr. Yang: Beyond my fellowship in airway surgery, I have worked hard to obtain additional training in quality improvement, patient safety, clinical research, and the implementation of evidence-based practices. In 2018, I completed a year-long hospital-based course in quality improvement, earning the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Basic Certificate in Quality and Safety. From 2021 to 2023, I dedicated 50 percent of my time to earning a Master of Science in Clinical Research Methods from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. I have also sought coursework and mentorship in qualitative and mixed methods, grant writing, and implementation science. At NYU Langone, in addition to pursuing my own research, I look forward to mentoring other investigators in their quality improvement and research work and in obtaining grant funding.

I am also excited to continue mentoring medical students. I have mentored more than 30 students in my career and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society for this contribution to medical education—one of the most fulfilling aspects of my job. I plan to continue connecting NYU Grossman School of Medicine students interested in otolaryngology and related specialties with research opportunities and programs.