Jesus Jaile-Marti, MD, Chief of Neonatology at White Plains Hospital Is Named a 2016 Healthcare Hero

Jesus Jaile-Marti, MD, FAAP, of Hartsdale, Chief of the Division of Neonatology at White Plains Hospital, will be recognized on Thursday as a 2016 Healthcare Hero by Westchester Magazine during an awards luncheon at the Lake Isle Country Club in Eastchester. Dr. Jaile, as he is known, is a crusader for the smallest patients at the Hospital; the tiny babies – born prematurely or with other life-threatening complications— who require the most intensive services. For more than two decades, Dr. Jaile has overseen the care of these fragile newborns to help them win their daily struggle for survival.

Dr. Jaile and his dedicated staff of six neonatologist physicians and more than 30 specialized nurses at White Plains Hospital treat approximately 400 babies born there each year, as well as infants born elsewhere in the Hudson Valley and transferred to the Hospital’s 15-bed Level III Charles A. Mastronardi Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

“Dr. Jaile’s dedication to caring for his tiny patients inspires everyone: parents, staff, and even former patients. He gives his heart not only to his babies but to their families as well.” said Michael Palumbo, MD, Executive Vice President and Medical Director. Every other November, Dr. Jaile is the star attraction at the hospital’s biannual NICU Reunion, attended by more than 300 NICU “alumni” and the families.

Last summer, three of those babies returned to the NICU as young women to help out on the neonatal floor. Their very presence gave hope to parents that their little babies would be all right, too. Two of these grown-up miracles were high school volunteers. The third one was a nurse apprentice, 22-year-old Kathryn Linehan, who had a distinctive story: she was the very first NICU baby treated by Dr. Jaile when the unit opened in 1994, a project he had championed and led. Dr. Jaile stays in touch with his former patients. In fact, he personally coached Kathryn Linehan to help her decide whether to pursue a nursing career, and he made sure her rotations as a nurse apprentice at White Plains Hospital included the NICU.

Prior to 1994, only one Westchester hospital provided advanced neonatal care. White Plains Hospital’s riskiest newborn cases – about 40 or 50 a year – had to be transferred to New York City, creating an excessive travel burden on parents whose children might stay in the hospital for one, two, or even three months. Today, all of that care is available in Westchester, and White Plains Hospital has become a destination in the region for advanced perinatal, maternity and neonatal care.

Dr. Jaile attended Manhattanville College where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry. He received his Medical Degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He was a pediatric resident at Children’s Hospital of New York and he did his Post-Doctoral work there are well.

Dr. Jaile is the second White Plains Hospital physician in as many years to be named a Healthcare Hero by Westchester Magazine; Dr. Erik Larsen, Associate Medical Director for the Hospital’s Emergency Department received that recognition in 2015.