NEPTUNE – K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital has announced that Steven W. Kairys, M.D., was recently honored by The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) New Jersey Chapter at its Third Annual New Jersey Children’s Ball as Pediatrician of the Year for his outstanding clinical care and continued dedication to improving the health and wellness of children, across New Jersey and nationally.
A general pediatrician with sub-board specialties in adolescent medicine and child abuse, Kairys serves as the chairman of pediatrics at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, co-medical director of K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital, and as professor of pediatrics at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Kairys received his medical degree from Temple University, his Master of Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health and completed his pediatric residency at Dartmouth Medical School.
He came to New Jersey in 1998 after 20 years of pediatric practice in New Hampshire. During his time in New Hampshire, he was president of the New Hampshire chapter of the AAP and founder and first president of the New Hampshire Alliance for Children and Youth, a statewide advocacy organization.
Kairys is chairman of the New Jersey Council of Children’s Hospitals, and has served on a number of boards and committees, including the National Institute for Child Health Quality (NICHQ). He is also medical director of the National AAP Quality Improvement and Innovation Networks (QuIIN). He was awarded World Health Organization fellowships in 1982 and 1989; the Best Teacher Award from Dartmouth in 1982 and 1989; and the Governor’s Award for Service to Children in New Hampshire in 1998.
Kairys has been the medical director and chairman of the board for the New Jersey Pediatric Council on Research and Education (PCORE) since its inception in 1999. Throughout his time as medical director, he has been a medical champion for several PCORE initiatives related to improving pediatric health outcomes and office-based systems change, including: medical home, child abuse and neglect prevention and lead poisoning prevention.
As a national leader in pediatric quality improvement and the prevention of child abuse and neglect, Kairys serves as the principal investigator for Strengthening Pediatric Partners, PCORE’s first quality improvement maintenance of certification project. His involvement has been instrumental in developing it into a project that improves the quality of care that children and their families receive in pediatric offices across the state.
Kairys’s vision, leadership and dedication have enabled PCORE to successfully unite diverse stakeholders, including chairpersons of competing hospitals, public health officials and social service agencies, inviting them into the grassroots of health care – the primary care office – to improve health-care systems through public policy and private practice changes.
“We are very proud that Dr. Kairys has been honored as Pediatrician of the Year by The American Academy of Pediatrics New Jersey Chapter,” said Steven G. Littleson, president of K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital and Jersey Shore University Medical Center. “As co-medical director of K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital, he has helped establish and advance our hospital’s mission to provide the best health care experience for children in our area. He is truly passionate about providing exceptional care for children, and this recognition is well deserved.”
