From the Dean & CEO

The human hand, noted Walt Whitman, puts to scorn all machinery. But some devices—such as the state-of-the-art electronic glove used at NYU Langone Medical Center’s Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine to advance rehabilitation for stroke patients and others—can actually serve this marvel of nature. Rusk is embarking on a new chapter in its more than 60-year history as it gradually relocates beyond its flagship facility on East 34th Street to various sites on and off campus.

Despite all its high-tech technology, Rusk practices high-touch medicine, and the same is true for the everyday heroes who staff Tisch Hospital’s Emergency Department, which will be expanding and modernizing over the next three years. When a patient is in distress, let alone in crisis, what could be more comforting and reassuring than the touch of a caregiver?

In this issue, you’ll also read about another hero: vascular surgeon Dr. Thomas Maldonado, who used his skillful hands to save the life of a young woman—and her unborn child. As every nurse knows, human touch can lower a patient’s blood pressure within minutes. But when a long-term solution is needed, Dr. Henry Black, a hypertension specialist, offers advice that will put you in the best of hands.

Robert I. Grossman, MD