As we write this, the flowering trees here in Baltimore are abloom and there’s a palpable sense of relief in the air as we all emerge from under the heavy weight of the COVID-19 pandemic — a weight that our staff and faculty members have borne these past two years with grace, steadfastness and an incredible devotion to our mission.

We are so grateful to our colleagues who have advanced the vital work of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center during these trying months — colleagues such as those in our Child Life Department, who tirelessly ensured our young patients got the emotional support they needed throughout the COVID-19 restrictions on visitation. And our faculty, trainees and alumni who have led efforts out in the community, both near (at the Rales Health Center in West Baltimore) and far (at health clinics serving Native American communities in the Southwest), to provide vital health and wellness care to children and families hit hardest by COVID-19.

We recognize, of course, how difficult this pandemic has been for our patients and their families and caregivers and we are all so honored to have been entrusted with the safety and care of your loved ones throughout this taxing time.

Our thanks go out, too, to members of our leadership team — including Mark Marcantano, chief administrative officer for the Department of Pediatrics, Chief Medical Officer David Stockwell, and Dawn Luzetsky, senior director of pediatric nursing — for their wise guidance and to the many other administrators, managers and leaders throughout the Children's Center for their important contributions to patient care throughout the global pandemic.

As we take a collective breath and look ahead with renewed optimism, with a redesigned magazine that will now be published twice a year (Spring and Fall) rather than once, we bid farewell to longtime magazine editorGary Logan, who retired last fall after ably leading the magazine since its inception 15 years ago.

Here’s to a bright future!

Margaret “Maggie” Moon, M.D., M.P.H.
Co-Director and Pediatrician-in-Chief, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center

David Hackam, M.D., Ph.D.
Co-Director and Surgeon-in-Chief, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center