New York – Dr. Kirsten Roberts
Updated April 2006

Dr. Kirsten Roberts obtained her M.D. at the University of Michigan and completed her pediatrics residency at the Babies and Children’s Hospital, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.  She works with the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center to provide consultations to their Head Start (HS) and Early Head Start (EHS) programs.  Dr. Roberts and a group of pediatric interns and residents provide education and training to both staff and parents to help improve the quality of the lives of children that they see clinically at Jacobi Hospital/ Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where Dr. Roberts is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics.

As Director of the Resident Community Advocacy Training Program, Dr. Roberts realized that while many of her patients spent a great deal of time in day care, the quality of the center was not always very high.  She also realized that her residents often did not have a good sense regarding the daily lives of their patients.  In an effort to change this, she wrote letters to day care centers in the area asking if they would be interested in forming a partnership.  About 15 responded and they started a pilot program with the Kingsbridge Heights Center.  Now Head Start and Early Head Start staff let them know when there is a topic that they need help with.  For example, when there was an outbreak of gastroenteritis in the center, Dr. Roberts and her residents came to do a presentation about this for both the staff and parents.  Other topics have included sleep disorders, asthma, safety, and nutrition.  Overall, they do approximately one presentation or training each month.  Dr Roberts also volunteers on the center's health advisory board and as their pediatric consultant of record.

Dr. Roberts hopes that as her residents graduate and move on, they will create a similar type of collaboration with early childhood centers in other communities, thereby spreading the concept that there are many ways in which doctors can work with and support young children and their families.