Meet Dr. Jamie Lee Palaganas: Your Child's Neurological Health Advocate
Dr. Jamie is a board-certified child neurologist and pediatrician who founded Pediatric Neurology of NYC after nearly a decade in academic practice. Her goal was to provide uniquely individualized, holistic, and collaborative care that she values and has become known for. From her days as a resident physician, she aimed to build a network of like-minded professionals across all disciplines of pediatric healthcare, emphasizing collaboration over competition to improve the quality of pediatric patient care.
At Pediatric Neurology of NYC, Dr. Jamie offers each patient and their family the time they need to share their story and history, to best understand their values and what is important to them. This approach allows her to develop a nuanced medical care plan that extends beyond merely prescribing medications.
Education and Career
Dr. Jamie earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University, with a minor in music for both cello and voice performance. After graduating, she worked with a pediatric neurologist who introduced her to the field and the importance of humanism in medicine. This experience laid the foundation for her approach to medical school. She received her MD from the University at Buffalo, where she also completed her initial two years of training in pediatrics. She then completed her neurology training at Boston Children’s Hospital, developing a keen interest in acute care neurology and quality improvement. She joined the faculty at Boston Children’s Hospital as their first pediatric neurohospitalist. With this interest in acute care, she also served as physician leader for quality improvement where she led the residency QI curriculum for several years as well as helped revamp the format and content of departmental Morbidity and Mortality Conferences.
During her early years in practice, Dr. Jamie was known for emphasizing the importance of clear communication between teams and families for not only improved patient care and family and physician satisfaction, but also its role in physician wellness. This led her to complete a Fellowship in Interdisciplinary Education through Harvard’s Institute of Professionalism and Ethical Practice and the Live Well Lead Well Leadership program through the American Academy of Neurology.
As a native New Yorker with family on Long Island, Dr. Jamie returned to New York to join the faculty at Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. There, she continued to hone her skills and knowledge as a neurohospitalist and an educator. While at Cornell, she served as Program Director of the Child Neurology residency and was awarded the residency teaching award in 2023.
Today, Dr. Jamie practices as a neurohospitalist and neurocritical care consultant at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and University of North Carolina. concierge neurologic care through her private practice. She holds licenses in five states, offering both in-person and telemedicine care.
Professional Development
Outside of clinical medicine, Dr. Jamie values her professional connections and societies, recognizing how fields beyond Child Neurology can enhance best practices, improve education and clinical care. She was the first pediatric neurologist to join the board and executive board of the Neurohospitalist Society and co-founded the Pediatric Neurohospitalist Working Group. She has achieved fellow status at the American Academy of Neurology. Most recently, Dr. Jamie co-founded The Collaborative Pediatrics Society to advance professional development, clinical medicine, business practices, and community outreach for a multidisciplinary group of pediatric providers.
With her multiple areas of expertise, Dr. Jamie continues to enjoy the opportunity to speak locally and nationally about pediatric neurohospitalist medicine, physician wellness, collaborative communication and resident education. Whether speaking to the patients, the community, or a professional society, the emphasis on developing and maintaining a team is a key aspect to Dr. Jamie’s message.
Dr. Jamie is an active member of multiple professional societies including:
- American Academy of Neurology
- Child Neurology Society
- Neurohospitalist Society
- Collaborative Pediatrics Society
Board Certifications:
- American Board of Pediatrics
- American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with Special Qualification in Child Neurology
Additional Education and Training:
- Live Well Lead Well Leadership Program through the American Academy of Neurology
- Fellowship for Leaders in Collaborative and Humanistic Interprofessional Education at the Institute for Professionalism and Ethical Practice at Harvard University
- Program in Clinical Effectiveness at the Harvard School of Public Health
- Quality Improvement Academy at Weill Cornell Medicine
Beyond Medicine
When not seeing patients, teaching, or collaborating with other professionals, Dr. Jamie maintains an active lifestyle with a love of nature, fitness, music and food!
During medical school Dr. Jamie worked as a personal trainer and the pandemic reignited her passion for fitness. During the pandemic she started an online kickboxing and boxing platform with her kickboxing coach and later they opened a boutique fitness studio in Manhattan where she would train clients, teach classes in yoga, kickboxing, boxing, strength for children and adults. Her knowledge of medicine and neurology only enhance her love for fitness and how it can be an important part of each person’s wellness.
In 2015 Dr. Jamie completed a 200 hour intensive yoga teacher training and continues to practice yoga regularly as well as teach privately, at professional meetings and local studios. Yoga has been an important aspect of caring for herself and others in both mind and body.
In her free time, Dr. Jamie loves to compete in various sports including competitive obstacle racing (like Spartan races), strength sports like powerlifting and strongman. She also trains in Muay Thai for exercise and self-defense.
Her dogs accompany her on any and all of these activities when they can and even accompany her to the office at times where they serve as amazing therapy dogs! Her current pack consists of Hank, a senior yo Plott Hound rescue, Chaos, a middle aged goofy boxer (pictured below!), and Anarchy, a 1 yo mixed breed rescue. She has a special place in her heart for special needs dogs after losing 3 senior dogs after long fights with multiple forms of cancer, an amputation, doggy ALS (degenerative myelopathy) and dementia. From chemotherapy to physical therapy, wheelchair use, to incontinence, each dog taught her more about empathy, compassion and how to appreciate the small things in life.
With all this activity, nutrition is also important and Dr. Jamie loves to cook, bake sourdough goodies and desserts. Her travels, even for conferences, often revolve around being close to excellent coffee and food. She has been known to bake muffins, breads, bagels for the staff on the floor when on call and loves to serve a crowd.
Join Us at Pediatric Neurology of NYC
Experience the difference in pediatric neurological care with Dr. Jamie Lee Palaganas. Her expertise, coupled with a compassionate approach, makes Pediatric Neurology of NYC the right choice for your child. Reach out to us and take the first step toward expert neurological care for your child.