2001 Alma Dea Morani Renaissance Award Recipient
Barbara Barlow, M.D., FACS
Director of Surgery, Columbia University, and
Director, Injury Free Coalition for Kids
Barbara Barlow, M.D., FACS, is currently the Director of Surgery at Columbia University, and the Director of Injury Free Coalition for Kids. After her training in surgery and pediatric surgery, Dr. Barlow accepted a position as a pediatric surgeon at Harlem Hospital in New York City. Barbara Barlow found the position a way to change the lives of children in Harlem, where parents have to struggle against poverty, crime, and drugs to prevent broken lives. She began with “Children Can't Fly”, a program designed to place window guards in high rise residences in Harlem neighborhoods. She created the Harlem Hospital Injury Prevention Program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The program, which brings together physicians, hospital, industry and community, provides safety education and the creation of safe activities for children. Not only have the incidents of injury been reduced, neighborhoods have been transformed. This program has been duplicated in Philadelphia, Kansas City, Dallas, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago. Dr. Barlow provided the inspiration, expertise, and personal time - she is a catalyst for change and a visionary combining medicine, compassion, and social activism.