The State of the Children

Marilyn Heins, M.D. graduated from Radcliffe College and received her M.D. degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University.  She interned in pediatrics at New York Hospital and completed a residency in pediatrics at Babies Hospital in New York. Dr. Heins served as Director of Pediatrics at Detroit Receiving Hospital and Director of Project PRESCAD, a federally funded program to provide comprehensive health services for medically indigent children.  She was the Associate Dean for Student Affairs at Wayne State University School of Medicine and Vice Dean and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Dr. Heins was a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of the American Medical Association, served on the National Board of Medical Examiners, chaired the Committee on Medical Education of the American Hospital Association, and served as the first woman Chair of the Group on Student Affairs of the Association of American Medical Colleges.  She belongs to many professional organizations and is also active in community organizations focusing on education, public health, and family and women’s issues. 

 

Her special interests in pediatrics include helping parents to parent and teaching health professionals how to help parents parent. She has published 58 scientific papers and is the senior author of Child Care/Parent Care, Doubleday, 1987, a comprehensive book on childcare focusing on the needs of the parents as well as those of the child. Her latest book ParenTips was published in 1999, she is the founder and CEO of www.ParentKidsRight.com, a popular resource for parents, and also writes a bi-weekly parenting column for the Arizona Daily Star. Dr. Heins was the producer and host of The Parenting Show, a weekly call-in radio program which aired on KNST, Tucson's leading talk radio station. She lectures and conducts workshops for parents, grandparents, and those who work with children.

 

Dr. Heins’ daughter, who completed residencies in both internal medicine and psychiatry, is Clinical Professor and Associate Chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Heins’ son is a musician, audio engineer, and producer. She has two stepsons and six grandchildren.