NEW YORK, May 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- NYU Langone Health has appointed Jonathan H. Whiteson, MD, a nationally recognized leader in physical medicine and rehabilitation, as chair of Rusk Rehabilitation, one of the top-ranked centers of its kind in the nation.
Dr. Whiteson has been a longtime faculty member of Rusk Rehabilitation, most recently serving as vice chair of clinical operations and medical director of cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation. He is a graduate of Rusk Rehabilitation's residency and fellowship programs and joined the NYU Langone faculty in 1999.
As chair, Dr. Whiteson will focus on ensuring there is a consistently high standard of rehabilitation care as services continue to expand across NYU Langone. He also plans to grow Rusk Rehabilitation's footprint in oncology rehabilitation, frailty prevention, healthy aging, and emerging technologies such as AI, remote patient monitoring, and remote rehabilitation therapy to improve access and outcomes. Dr. Whiteson additionally sees great potential to build on Rusk Rehabilitation's leadership in groundbreaking research, exercise science in functional recovery, and advanced rehabilitative therapies, including innovative programs in neurologic, cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal, pediatric, and assistive technology care.
"Rehabilitation medicine is fundamentally about collaboration and helping patients achieve their highest possible level of physical, functional, cognitive, and emotional well-being," said Dr. Whiteson, who is also the Howard A. Rusk Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. "My vision is to ensure that every patient across NYU Langone Health receives the very best evidence-based rehabilitative care while we continue to define the leading edge of rehabilitation medicine."
Dr. Whiteson succeeds Steven R. Flanagan, MD, a highly respected leader who joined NYU Langone in 2008 and is known for his patient-centered approach. Under Dr. Flanagan's leadership, Rusk Rehabilitation has grown to serve over 550,000 outpatients and 2,000 inpatients annually across 27 locations. With 780 clinicians on staff, Rusk Rehabilitation is one of the largest rehabilitation medicine programs in the country and has trained nearly 1,000 physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians. Dr. Flanagan dramatically expanded the program's research portfolio; the program went from having no outside research funding to being among the top 10 in the country, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. U.S. News & World Report has consistently ranked Rusk Rehabilitation No. 1 for rehabilitation in New York State and among the top 5 rehabilitation centers in the nation.
"Dr. Whiteson's appointment reflects NYU Langone Health's continued commitment to advancing exceptional, evidence-based rehabilitation care, pioneering research, and training future leaders in the field," said Dr. Flanagan. "I've always recognized him as having great leadership potential, and I'm very happy that he'll be continuing the department's important work."
Dr. Whiteson has been on the board of directors of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, and he currently serves on the board of governors and as the chair of the Specialty Brand Expansion Committee of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He received his medical degree from the University of London.
About NYU Langone Health
NYU Langone Health is a fully integrated health system that consistently achieves the best patient outcomes through a rigorous focus on quality that has resulted in some of the lowest mortality rates in the nation. Vizient Inc. has ranked NYU Langone No. 1 out of 118 comprehensive academic medical centers across the nation for four years in a row, and U.S. News & World Report recently ranked four of its clinical specialties No. 1 in the nation. NYU Langone offers a comprehensive range of medical services with one high standard of care across seven inpatient locations, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and more than 320 outpatient locations in the New York area and Florida. The system also includes two tuition-free medical schools, in Manhattan and on Long Island, and a vast research enterprise.
Contact:
Marlene Naanes
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SOURCE NYU Langone Health
