Dr. Hylton I. Lightman is a senior statesman amongst pediatricians, an internationally-recognized authority and diagnostician, a public speaker, expert witness and go-to resource for health issues in the Orthodox Jewish community and beyond. Originally from South Africa, he started his current practice, Total Family Care of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway, PC in 1987. Dr. Lightman is a board-certified pediatrician and fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (FAAP). Over the years, Dr. Lightman has served in a number of leadership roles: director of the adult allergy clinic at Louis Lasky Center, director of pediatric allergy and asthma at Queens General Hospital, and co-director of pediatric and adult outpatient allergy at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital. Dr. Lightman is also a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine. In addition, he is actively involved in teaching pediatric and family nurse practitioners through Columbia University, Pace University, Lehmann College, and Molloy College, as well as mentoring physician assistants through Touro College. As the Medical Director and a practicing physician, Dr. Lightman has an accessible and friendly manner with parents and children alike. He holds himself and the whole practice to the highest standards of medical excellence, whether it be a simple camp physical or a child with serious symptoms. He can be reached at drlightman@totalfamilycaremd.com
As I write, our teenagers are engaged in midterms, hanging onto to the sliver of the proverbial sunrise on the horizon called winter break or Yeshiva Vacation Week. Jerusalem. Miami. Vail. Acapulco. St. Moritz. No matter the continent, whether it’s warm or cold or you’re staying home, you need to prepare to assure a win-win.
Recently, a mother said to me, “I made two smart decisions in my life, Dr. Lightman. The first was to get married and the second was to divorce. At least I have three beautiful children.” Indeed, her children are beautiful, inside and out. But are they going to be whole? With their childhoods compromised –
Today’s world is filled with stress and uncertainty. The recent tsunami in Indonesia. The terrorist attacks in Israel. Fires in California. The Pittsburgh massacre. And the increasing number of attacks on visibly Jewish Jews. Is it any wonder that children, adolescents and adults of all ages are riddled with anxiety? The unfortunate fact is stress
Dr. Richard Friedman, a Cedarhurst surgeon and founder of a Manhattan branch of the Hatzalah ambulance service, was struck and killed by a car late Saturday afternoon as he walked on a Lawrence, NY, street. The tragic event on Erev Hanukkah which claimed the life of Dr. Richard Friedman A”H brings into 20/20 focus the importance of walking and
Our world changed this past Shabbos. Permanently. And not for the better. We heard the news of the massacre in the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh. Actually, forget calling it a massacre and let’s call it what it really was — a pogrom, because it was planned with malice
I’ve been thinking about this article for a while. Actually, I’ve wanted to write about it for a long time. It bothers me. “It” is calling me by my first name. It’s happened in my office. During office hours. By some of my patients and their parents. The parents are young enough to be my
A dreaded time of the year has arrived. Total Family Care [Dr. Lightman’s practice] diagnosed its first documented case of influenza for the 2018-2019 season on Sunday, October 7, 2018. It’s early in the season (generally, the flu is more likely to be diagnosed between the end of December through the middle of March) but
There was good news but moments into the Jewish New Year. Last week, the day after Rosh HaShanah, our government’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that teenage use of electronic cigarettes had reached an “epidemic proportion.” FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said that more than two million middle and high school students were regular
Here’s a loaded question – When’s the last time you hugged your tween or teenager? It’s easy to hug babies. To a newborn, a parent’s love may be as important as food. They want to be hugged from the first moment of life. They’re so cute and vulnerable that you have to restrain yourself not
I love this time of the year. Back-to-School. It engenders warm, fuzzy feelings of optimism and hope as we embark on a new school year with the Jewish New Year not far behind. Even people who have “aged out” of this phase of back-to-school are caught up in this mood, which is pregnant with possibilities.
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Orthodox Union