Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD)
20 Hospital Service Road South
Valhalla, NY 10595
Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD) is a leader in addressing major social and health issues affecting people with disabilities and vulnerable children. WIHD addresses major social and health issues by developing and delivering medical, clinical, and support services to individuals. WIHD provides nearly 50 programs and services to families and professionals throughout Westchester County and the Lower Hudson.
TCDM students gain valuable clinical experience through externships with community-based partners including the Westchester Institute for Human Development. This valuable two-week rotation provides students with exposure to treatment special needs patients in a clinic setting, a mobile unit and in a hospital operating room. Formerly known as the Mental Retardation Institute, WIHD was founded in 1950 at New York Medical College (Flower-Fifth Avenue Hospital) in New York City. It was one of the first outpatient services in the country concerned exclusively with this diagnosis. With New York Medical College's move to Westchester County in the early 1970s, so did WHID. WHID's programs are still housed in the same building on campus to present day. In July of 2005, WHID was became an an independent non-profit organization and continues its mission of creating better futures for people with disabilities, for vulnerable children, and for their families and caregivers. Many NYMC faculty still have joint appointments between both institutions.