Deena Durst Berkowitz, MD, MPH

Associate Division Chief, Emergency Medicine

Co-Director, Acute and Urgent Care Fellowship

Emergency Medicine Physician

Deena Berkowitz, MD, MPH, is the medical director of Fast Track Services in the Division of Emergency Medicine at Children’s National Hospital. She is a strong advocate for supporting high standards of excellence in caring for low-acuity patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) for care. She co-directs the Acute and Urgent Care Fellowship at Children’s National. Dr. Berkowitz is a founding member of the Society for Pediatric Urgent Care.

As medical director of Fast Track Services, Dr. Berkowitz developed a system to manage lower acuity patients after recognizing the need to improve the delivery of care in the ED to maintain quality and meet patient satisfaction. She was responsible for the operation of a system that grew to almost 45,000 patient encounters per year and resulted in overall improvement in length of stay and patient and staff satisfaction. The design and operations were based on the development and ongoing monitoring of clinical quality and operational efficiency metrics. Dr. Berkowitz grew a staff of physicians and physician assistants; oversaw medical staff quality, and implemented multiple initiatives including clinical decision support, physician report cards and quality improvement projects.

Dr. Berkowitz completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at Columbia University, medical training at Yale University, and a Master in Public Health with a concentration in health management at Yale School of Public Health. She is board certified in both pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine. Her professional development also included a two-year quality improvement methodology training program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Her clinical and research interests include quality improvement, resource utilization and practice variation.

Dr. Berkowitz is from Montgomery County, Md., and in her spare time, enjoys spending time with her family and five children. She loves to hike and has visited over 13 national parks.

• Emergency Medicine and Trauma Services