The Burn Center

William Randolph Hearst Burn Center

Specialized Burn Center Programs

The William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center partners with other organizations to provide programs in wound healing, research, prevention, education, and reintegration of our patients and the communities that we serve. Our programs include:

Burn Outreach and Professional Education

Through this program, we offer burn prevention education to schools, senior and community groups, health outreach events, and health care/social service professionals, free of charge. For more information, please call the Burn Outreach and Professional Education Program Office at 212-746-5417.

New York Firefighters Wound Healing Research Program

Our research is centered on innovations in burn treatment — from gaming to rehabilitation aids to nanotechnology – and studying effective prevention methods and injury trends. Areas of focus include:

  • Basic and clinical aspects of burn injury and skin biology, including biological skin substitutes
  • Managing burn wound pruritus (itching), hydrotherapy, splinting, and aquatic therapy
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder in adult burn patients
  • Relationship of infection susceptibility to extent of injury

For more information on the New York Firefighters Wound Healing Research Program, please call 212-746-5881.

New York Firefighters Skin Bank

Established in 1978, the New York Firefighters Skin Bank provides allografts (skin grafts from donated tissue) to burn patients at the NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Allografts enable burn victims to fight infection, maintain their fluids and body heat, and control pain.

Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO) Therapy

Our Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO) Program offers innovative HBO therapy to help treat wounds, infections, carbon monoxide poisoning, and other conditions. For more information on the HBO Therapy program, please call 212-746-4426.

School Reentry

To help a child return to the classroom after a burn, members of the Burn Center staff will talk with teachers and students about burns, recovery, and how they can help a burn-injured classmate. Burn prevention education is also provided.

  • This program is offered free of charge and open to all burn survivors and their families.
  • Presentations are scheduled as needed and coordinated with the child's school.

For more information, please call the Burn Outreach and Professional Education Program Office at 212-746-5417.

Camp Phoenix

Camp Phoenix is run by students at Weill Cornell Medical College and provides local, safe, fun activities to children aged 7 to 17 years who have been affected by a burn injury. Siblings are also welcome to attend.  

  • Camp activities build self-confidence, focus on teamwork, and bring together kids who understand each other.
  • The Camp organizes three, one-day events on Saturdays in November, February, and May. There is also a weekend trip in June. Attendance is free of charge.

For more information, visit thecampphoenix.org or email [email protected].

Arthur C. Luf Children's Burn Camp

Burn Center staff members volunteer as camp counselors at the Arthur C. Luf Children's Burn Camp, a regional sleep-away camp for children aged 8 to 18 years who have survived serious burn injuries. Attendance is free of charge. To attend, contact the camp directly by visiting ctburnsfoundation.org, emailing [email protected], or calling 888-40-BURNS or 203-878-6744.

African Burn Care Development Education Fund

As part of the Global Health program, Weill Cornell Medicine partners with the Bugando Medical Center in Tanzania to help to improve the medical care available to the local population. The BurnED (African Burn Care Development Education Fund) brings the expertise of the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center to Tanzania. East African clinicians develop the capability to provide competent, timely, and effective burn care to reduce the pain and disability from burns. To learn more about BurnED, download our brochure or visit surgery.weill.cornell.edu/burned.