LOS ANGELES (July 19, 2021) — Robert M. Kay, MD, has been named Division Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery and Service Line Medical Director of the Children’s Orthopaedic Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
The Children’s Orthopaedic Center is ranked fourth in the nation in pediatric orthopaedics by U.S. News & World Report. In a typical year, the Children’s Orthopaedic Center team performs more than 150 hip surgeries and more than 250 scoliosis procedures.
Dr. Kay will provide administrative and clinical leadership for the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery in alignment with the hospital’s enterprise mission, vision, values and goals. Reporting to the Surgeon-in-Chief, he will lead strategic planning, recruitment, and programmatic development for the Children’s Orthopaedic Center’s clinical, research and educational programs, including those focusing on the care of children with bone and soft tissue tumors; childhood hip disorders; hand and upper extremity conditions; neuromuscular conditions; scoliosis and spinal deformity; and sports medicine and other orthopaedic trauma injuries.
Dr. Kay’s team will continue to ensure the integration of research and training programs with clinical services for the Children’s Orthopaedic Center, whose team members have published nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles in the last two years.
Dr. Kay had served as Vice Chief of the Children’s Orthopaedic Center since 2009, as well as CHLA’s Chief of Staff from 2009 to 2011. He also has served as Medical Director of the John C. Wilson Jr. Motion and Sports Analysis Laboratory, a position he has held since he first came to CHLA in 1997. Under his leadership, the laboratory has become internationally renowned, and remains one of only 14 fully accredited motion analysis laboratories in the United States. The Commission for Motion Laboratory Accreditation (CMLA) has accredited the lab four times, including this year when it became the second lab in history to receive CMLA full accreditation with no deficiencies.
Dr. Kay has published more than 130 peer-reviewed articles and 20 book chapters. He is active in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, and the Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society. He serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics and the Board of Directors for the Committee for Motion Laboratory Accreditation. Dr. Kay earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at UCLA, as well as a pediatric orthopaedic fellowship at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta – Scottish Rite Hospital.
ABOUT CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES Founded in 1901, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is the largest provider of care for children in Los Angeles County. Families travel from all 50 states and more than 90 countries so that their children can receive the very best care. The hospital’s clinical teams treat patients ranging in age from newborn infants to young adults for everything from well-child visits to organ transplantation. It is ranked the top children’s hospital in California as well as in the Pacific region, and fifth in the nation for clinical excellence by U.S. News & World Report in its prestigious Honor Roll of Best Children’s Hospitals. Clinical care is led by physicians who are faculty members of the Keck School of Medicine of USC through an affiliation dating from 1932. It is home to the largest pediatric residency training program at a freestanding children’s hospital of its kind in the western United States. Among top 10 children’s hospitals for National Institutes of Health funding, The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles leads the field in innovative bench-to-bedside basic, translational and clinical research conducted in pediatrics. To learn more, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter, and visit our blog at CHLA.org/blog.
