Columbia University Irving Medical Center - NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA Columbia University academic medical center and the largest NewYork-Presbyterian campus, combining advanced hospital care, medical education, biomedical research, and community health services in Washington Heights, Manhattan.
Last updated October 14, 2026
Overview
Columbia University Medical Center—now commonly called Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC)—is an academic medical campus in Washington Heights, Manhattan, associated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University. The supplied name combines two related but distinct identities: the Columbia academic medical center and the NewYork-Presbyterian hospital operation serving patients at the Columbia campus. It is therefore best understood as a co-branded academic-healthcare relationship rather than as a separately incorporated consumer brand. The Columbia campus brings together Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, and affiliated clinical and research organizations. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital operates the principal hospital facilities connected with the campus, including NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The institutions collaborate in patient care, medical education, biomedical research, public health, and specialist referral services. The campus is particularly associated with tertiary and quaternary care, including complex surgery, transplantation, cancer care, cardiovascular medicine, neurology and neurosurgery, women’s and children’s health, emergency medicine, and other highly specialized services. Its clinical identity is supported by university research laboratories, residency and fellowship programs, and faculty physicians who may hold appointments with both Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian. NewYork-Presbyterian was created in 1998 through the merger of The New York Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital. The resulting health system has two major academic affiliations in New York City: Columbia University in Washington Heights and Weill Cornell Medicine on the Upper East Side. The Columbia relationship is consequently one component of the broader NewYork-Presbyterian system, not a standalone hospital company. The campus has undergone several naming changes. The term Columbia University Medical Center was widely used for decades, while Columbia University renamed the campus Columbia University Irving Medical Center in 2017 after a major philanthropic commitment associated with Herbert and Florence Irving. The hospital-facing designation continues to use NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia University Irving Medical Center together. Because the requested subject is not a single consistently titled Wikipedia entity and may refer either to the campus, the hospital, or their co-branded relationship, this record is marked for review.
History
The Columbia medical campus grew from Columbia University’s long-standing medical education and research activities in New York. Its principal teaching hospital relationship is with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, whose Columbia campus is located in Washington Heights. The hospital identity reflects the institutional history of NewYork-Presbyterian, while the academic identity reflects Columbia University and its medical and health-science schools. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital was formed in 1998 by the merger of The New York Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital. The merger created a large nonprofit academic health system with major affiliations to both Columbia University and Cornell University. At the Columbia site, the hospital works with Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and other university schools to provide clinical training, faculty practice, research, and advanced patient services. The campus has developed into a multidisciplinary academic medical center with adult and pediatric hospitals, ambulatory facilities, research programs, and training programs. Its scope includes routine hospital care as well as highly specialized referral medicine. The Columbia campus is also connected to the regional NewYork-Presbyterian network, allowing services and clinical programs to operate across multiple hospitals and outpatient locations. In 2017, Columbia University announced that its medical campus would be renamed Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The change recognized the Irving family’s philanthropic support and established the name now used by the university for the campus. NewYork-Presbyterian continues to identify its hospital operations at the site through names incorporating both the hospital system and Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The combined expression in this dossier should not be treated as proof of a separate legal entity called “Columbia University Medical Center - NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.” It is a practical description of the Columbia-affiliated NewYork-Presbyterian hospital campus. Further entity resolution would be required to determine whether a source intended CUIMC, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, or the broader NewYork-Presbyterian system.
- 2026
James McKiernan becomes interim CUIMC CEO
[12]McKiernan assumed interim leadership after Armstrong transitioned to launch the Vagelos Institute for Basic Biomedical Research.
- 2025
Katrina Armstrong resumes CUIMC leadership
[11]Armstrong returned as CUIMC CEO and dean of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons after an interim leadership period.
- 2023
Patient-safety and survivor-support plan announced
[5]Columbia and CUIMC announced an external investigation, survivor fund, patient notification, and a Center for Patient Safety Science after the Hadden case.
- 2016
Medical center renamed for Herbert and Florence Irving
[7]Columbia University Medical Center became Columbia University Irving Medical Center in recognition of the Irvings’ philanthropy.
- 2016
Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center opens
[10]A new medical and graduate education building opened on the medical-center campus.
- 2010
Milstein Family Heart Center opens
[3]The Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center opened as a dedicated cardiovascular-care facility.
- 2005
Irving Cancer Research Center dedicated
[7]The Irving Cancer Research Center was dedicated, expanding the campus’s cancer-research infrastructure.
- 2003
Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital opens
[3]The pediatric and maternal-care hospital opened on the Columbia campus.
- 1997
NewYork-Presbyterian created through hospital merger
[3]The New York Hospital and The Presbyterian Hospital merged, creating NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and a larger nonprofit academic health system.
- 1984
Pediatric heart-transplant milestone
[3]Columbia-Presbyterian physicians performed what NewYork-Presbyterian describes as the first successful heart transplant in a child.
Showing the 10 most recent.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit, university-affiliated academic medical center that combines high-acuity hospital care, advanced specialty referral services, medical and health-professions education, clinical trials, biomedical research, and community health activity through the Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian partnership.
Academic hospital · 1928
NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center
The principal adult hospital facility on the Columbia campus provides emergency, inpatient, outpatient, surgical, intensive-care, diagnostic, and complex referral services. It operates within NewYork-Presbyterian and is staffed and academically integrated with Columbia University’s health-sciences faculty.
Pediatric and maternal hospital · 2003
NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital
Opened in 2003, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital provides pediatric subspecialty, pediatric surgery, neonatal, maternal-fetal, cardiac, cancer, transplant, and critical-care services. It is one of the principal pediatric clinical institutions associated with the Columbia campus.
Cardiovascular care · 2010
Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center
The Milstein Family Heart Center is a dedicated cardiovascular facility offering integrated diagnosis and treatment for heart disease, including medical cardiology, interventional procedures, cardiac surgery, electrophysiology, advanced heart failure, and related specialty programs.
Cancer care and research · 2005
Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
The cancer center combines oncology treatment, cancer prevention, laboratory research, clinical investigation, genetic and molecular analysis, radiation and surgical oncology, and access to clinical trials. Its research infrastructure includes the Irving Cancer Research Center.
Neurology and neurosurgery · 1909
Neurological Institute of New York
The Neurological Institute is a major center for adult and pediatric neurology, neurosurgery, stroke, epilepsy, movement disorders, neuro-oncology, spine care, neurocritical care, and neurological research. It has been associated with the Columbia medical campus since the development of the integrated center.
Medical education · 1767
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
The Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons is Columbia University’s medical school and the principal academic faculty connected with CUIMC. It provides medical-degree education, graduate medical education, continuing education, and faculty research across basic, translational, and clinical sciences.
Physician network and specialty care · 1979
ColumbiaDoctors
ColumbiaDoctors is the faculty practice associated with Columbia University’s health-sciences schools. It provides outpatient primary and specialty care, subspecialty consultations, diagnostics, procedures, second opinions, and referral access across the Columbia and NewYork-Presbyterian clinical network.
Research and clinical trials · 1928
Clinical and translational research
CUIMC supports clinical investigation through research institutes, clinical-trial programs, data and biobank infrastructure, translational-science programs, and Columbia University’s Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. Research spans basic biology, population health, precision medicine, neuroscience, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and infectious disease.
Controversies
2023
Robert Hadden sexual-abuse case and institutional accountability crisis
Robert Hadden, a former obstetrician-gynecologist associated with Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian, sexually abused patients over a period extending from approximately 1987 to 2012. He was convicted in federal court in January 2023 and sentenced to 20 years in prison in July 2023. The case led to extensive civil litigation, public criticism of institutional oversight and reporting, survivor settlements, patient notification, an external investigation, and new patient-safety initiatives.
2023
Survivor fund and external investigation announced
Following Hadden’s federal conviction, Columbia and CUIMC announced that nearly 6,500 former patients would be notified, survivors could seek compensation through a new $100 million settlement fund, and an external investigator would examine how the abuse continued for so long.
2021
Earlier civil settlement with Hadden survivors
Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian announced a settlement with 79 women who had been patients of Hadden. The agreement followed earlier complaints, civil claims, and criminal proceedings involving the former physician.
Marketing campaigns
- 2016Irving philanthropy and medical-campus renaming
New York City · United States
Long-term philanthropic support from Herbert and Florence Irving funded cancer research, facilities, and other medical-center priorities.
Outcome. The campus was renamed Columbia University Irving Medical Center in 2016, recognizing the Irvings’ contribution to the institution.
- 2010Milstein Family Heart Center campaign
New York City · United States
The Milstein family foundations supported the development of a dedicated six-level cardiovascular facility at the Columbia campus.
Outcome. The Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center opened in 2010 and consolidated advanced cardiac services.
- 2003Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital capital campaign
New York City · United States
Morgan Stanley and its employees provided major philanthropic support for the construction of a new children’s hospital on the Columbia campus, alongside support for an adult emergency department.
Outcome. The campaign contributed to the opening of Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in 2003 and expanded pediatric, maternal, and emergency-care capacity.
- 1927Community campaign for Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center
New York City · United States
Facing a major funding gap before the medical center opened, Columbia and its partners organized a broad public campaign directed at New Yorkers and local communities. The effort emphasized that the planned center would serve the city without regard to race, creed, or color and raised contributions from thousands of individuals, including postal workers, nursing alumni, students, and Washington Heights residents.
Outcome. The campaign helped close the financing gap and supported the opening of the integrated medical center in 1928.
Brand decisions
2026
Transition CUIMC to interim leadershipleadership_changeBackground
Katrina Armstrong announced a transition from her CUIMC and Columbia health-sciences leadership roles to launch the Vagelos Institute for Basic Biomedical Research.
Action taken
James McKiernan assumed interim responsibility for the Columbia health-sciences portfolio, CUIMC, the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and ColumbiaDoctors.
Aftermath
The leadership change was presented as a continuity arrangement intended to maintain the medical center’s education, research, clinical-care, and community missions during the transition.
2023
Launch a patient-safety and survivor-support responseStrategyBackground
The federal conviction of former gynecologist Robert Hadden intensified criticism of Columbia and CUIMC’s handling of patient complaints, supervision, and institutional safeguards.
Action taken
Columbia and CUIMC announced an external investigation, notification of former patients, a $100 million survivors’ settlement fund, a new Center for Patient Safety Science, and expanded review of quality and safety programs.
Aftermath
The response made patient safety, survivor support, institutional accountability, and rebuilding public trust central priorities of the medical center’s recent governance agenda.
Survivors’ settlement fund. $100 million (Announced November 13, 2023)
2016
Rename the medical campus Columbia University Irving Medical CenterStrategyBackground
Herbert and Florence Irving had become among the most significant philanthropists in the history of Columbia’s medical center, supporting cancer research and facility development.
Action taken
Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian renamed the shared Washington Heights campus Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
Aftermath
The new name strengthened the Columbia academic identity while retaining the campus’s position within the NewYork-Presbyterian hospital system.
1997
Merge Presbyterian Hospital with The New York HospitalM&ABackground
Two large academic hospitals affiliated with Columbia University and Cornell University respectively sought to combine their clinical and institutional resources.
Action taken
The Presbyterian Hospital and The New York Hospital merged to form NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, with the Columbia campus becoming the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.
Aftermath
The merger created a major nonprofit academic health system with Columbia and Cornell campuses and expanded the Columbia site’s role within a multi-campus network.
Recent events
- 2026
James McKiernan appointed interim executive vice president for health and biomedical sciences and interim CEO of CUIMC[12]
Leadership change
James McKiernan assumed interim leadership of Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Columbia’s health-sciences portfolio after Katrina Armstrong announced her transition to launch the Vagelos Institute for Basic Biomedical Research.
- 2025
Katrina Armstrong returns to lead CUIMC and the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons[11]
Leadership change
Columbia announced that Katrina Armstrong would resume her roles as CUIMC CEO, dean of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and executive vice president for health and biomedical sciences effective September 2, 2025.
- 2016
Columbia University Medical Center renamed Columbia University Irving Medical Center[7]
Other
Columbia and NewYork-Presbyterian renamed the shared Washington Heights medical campus in honor of Herbert and Florence Irving and their long-standing philanthropy.
- 2010
Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center opens[3]
Product launch
A six-level heart-care facility opened at the Columbia campus, expanding integrated cardiac diagnosis, surgery, intervention, and specialty treatment.
- 2003
Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital opens at the Columbia campus[3]
Product launch
The Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian opened as a major pediatric and maternal-care facility supported by a large campaign gift from Morgan Stanley and its employees.
- 1997
The New York Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital merge to create NewYork-Presbyterian[3]
M&A
The merger combined the Columbia-affiliated Presbyterian Hospital with the Cornell-affiliated New York Hospital, creating the NewYork-Presbyterian system and changing the institutional context in which the Columbia campus operated.
Sources13 sources
- 1Columbia University Irving Medical Center Historylibrary-archives.cumc.columbia.edu
- 2Columbia University Irving Medical Center: Construction Chronology, 1925-presentlibrary-archives.cumc.columbia.edu
- 3History of NewYork-Presbyteriannyp.org
- 4Columbia University Irving Medical Center Leadership and Administrationcuimc.columbia.edu
- 5Columbia University and CUIMC Announce Multi-Pronged Plan to Address Past Abuses of Robert Hadden and Support Survivorscuimc.columbia.edu
- 6Former Obstetrician/Gynecologist Robert Hadden Sentenced to 20 Years in Prisonjustice.gov
- 7Who Is It Named For?library-archives.cumc.columbia.edu
- 8A Medical Center For—and By—the Communityvagelos.columbia.edu
- 9General Clinical Research Center establishedirvinginstitute.columbia.edu
- 10Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center openscolumbia.edu
- 11Katrina Armstrong resumes CUIMC leadershipcuimc.columbia.edu
- 12James McKiernan becomes interim CUIMC CEOcuimc.columbia.edu
- 13Earlier civil settlement with Hadden survivorscuimc.columbia.edu
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