Himani Divatia Wins National Award for Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Leadership

Himani Divatia, D.O., FACP, FAAP, associate program director of ChristianaCare’s Medicine-Pediatrics (Med-Peds) residency program, has been selected as the 2022 recipient of the Brendan P. Kelly, M.D. Award for academic medicine-pediatrics leadership from the Medicine-Pediatrics Program Directors Association (MPPDA).

The award is particularly poignant for Dr. Divatia. As a medical student, she initially learned about the combined Med-Peds discipline from a keynote address by the award’s namesake. Dr. Kelly was an internal medicine-pediatrics physician, prominent associate program director and well-respected in the MPPDA. Dual-certified in internal medicine and pediatrics, Med-Peds physicians care for newborns, children, adolescents and adults.

Dr. Divatia trained and served as co-chief resident in the ChristianaCare Med-Peds Residency program she helps lead today.

“For Dr. Divatia’s contributions to Med-Peds to be viewed by her peers at this level with an award in Dr. Kelly’s name speaks volumes of her accomplishments, and signals a tremendous future for this rising leader,” said Allen Friedland, M.D., MACP, FAAP, director of ChristianaCare’s Medicine-Pediatrics residency program.

A hospitalist and frequently invited national speaker on pediatric wellness and preventive health guidelines, Dr. Divatia developed the American Academy of Physicians award-winning Physician Health and Wellness booth initiative. She also developed a two-week virtual elective experience featuring national faculty to highlight opportunities within the Med-Peds discipline when the global pandemic constrained on-site clinical rotations.

“The experiences I gained through my residency training at ChristianaCare were fundamental in preparing me to follow in Dr. Kelly’s footsteps both as a clinician and a program leader guiding the next generation of Med-Peds specialists,” Dr. Divatia said.

“This is an incredible honor — not just an accomplishment of my own, but of those Med-Peds mentors with whom I have trained, especially Dr. Friedland, who inspires greatness among Med-Peds physicians daily,” she said. “I also dedicate the award to all of our current and future Med-Peds residents. It embodies what the ‘M’ and ‘P’ stand for in my mind and heart: ‘My People’ and ‘Many Possibilities’.”

ChristianaCare’s nationally recognized and highly competitive combined Med-Peds residency program operates in conjunction with Nemours Children’s Health in Delaware.