Larry Levine is a visionary leader in the field of pediatric healthcare, and a tireless advocate on behalf of children and families. He has dedicated his career to improving the way healthcare is delivered to children, particularly those with complex medical needs. Serving as Blythedale’s President & CEO since 2001, he has championed numerous path-breaking and transformational programs, including a unique model for long-term care for children, a caregiver education program that prepares parents to bring home their medically-complex child, and one-of-a-kind assistive technology program that opens up the world to children previously trapped within their own bodies.

With more than 40 years of experience in the children’s hospital field, Mr. Levine is a frequent speaker on topics related to the organization and management of children's hospital services and children's health policy issues. Previously, he was the Executive Director of Schneider Children's Hospital (now Cohen Children’s Medical Center/Northwell Health).

Below are links to some of his recent opinion pieces and media clips.

About Our Kids - Why All Americans Should Vote to Protect Kids' Health this Midterm Election

We would do anything for our own kids. The thought of them sick but unable to see a doctor, hungry or homeless is abhorrent to us. We would sooner sacrifice our own needs than see theirs go unmet.  We are their protectors, and the commitment to stand up for them is part of our basic identity, as Americans and as human beings. What about the other kids in our country? Click here to read more. 


I Can Do This

Remember bringing your first baby home from the hospital? Remember the happiness…and the fear? Suddenly, a tiny human being depended on you for survival. At the beginning, you’d check his breathing day and night, worry if he was feeding enough, struggle to decipher what his crying meant. You soon learned to understand and meet his needs; your baby grew and thrived. And you knew, “I can do this.”  But what does a parent need to know to bring home a medically complex child? Click here to read more.

Pediatric Long Term Care... and Going Home

“Long-term care facility.” The term evokes images of frail elderly residents languishing in beds or slumped in wheelchairs in front of TVs, waiting for a certain end. But many don’t know that childhoods are spent there, too. Throughout the country, infants and children share geriatric facilities, either in cribs or beds next to the elderly or in designated children’s areas; it makes little difference. But there is a better way: Blythedale Children’s Hospital has pioneered a radically different model for long-term care. Click here to read more.

In the Blink of an Eye

A small group of US Senators is writing a healthcare bill that may resemble in many ways the American Health Care Act (AHCA) recently passed in the House. It, too, will likely include massive cuts to Medicaid, the program that provides healthcare coverage for 34 million of our nation's children. With these cuts, eligibility and coverage would be vastly reduced. But 34 million is just a number, one so huge it is hard to grasp. So let me share the story of one little girl, named Amanda, and her family, a story we in the world of children's hospitals see repeated day after day. Click here to read more.

Hear My Voice, Watch Me Move - Assistive Technology and Children

A few days ago, the mother of a little girl who cannot speak, and has barely ever communicated, came out of our hospital's assistive technology area and began to weep. I approached her and asked if she was all right. She nodded vigorously through the tears and then looked up at me, smiling. "My daughter just told me she likes the color blue." Click here to read more.


Medicaid and Our Children


This is not about politics. It’s about children. The new Congress is working on a plan of massive cuts to Medicaid. What does this have to do with kids? Nearly half of Medicaid recipients are children. No matter what your view on the role of government, I think we can all agree that it is government’s responsibility to protect the most vulnerable: sick and disabled children. Click here to read more.


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Interviews

 

To schedule an interview with Mr. Levine, please contact Vice President of Strategic Communications Connie Cornell at ccornell@blythedale.org or (914) 831-2570.