Dr. Percy Huggins

During her medical degree training, her mentor encouraged her repeatedly to explore different specialties but Dr. Huggins consistently returned to pediatrics. “You can learn so much from children,” she says. “You have to approach them with a different mindset each time, which forces you to be creative.”

Dr. Huggins is an Assistant Attending Pediatrician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and a Clinical Instructor in Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College. In 2016, Dr. Huggins joined Tribeca Pediatrics, where she cared for newborns through teenagers. She ultimately served as a Physician Executive at the practice, where she oversaw various practicums for 100+ physicians before joining Atria as a Chief Medical Officer.

Upon graduation from Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Huggins completed her residency at Westchester Medical Center, where she honed her skills in treating children across a wide range of ages and medical complexities. Though there was pressure to specialize, she knew pediatrics was her calling. “I tried to keep an open mind, but I just love general pediatrics,” she says. “There is nothing more meaningful to me than building relationships with kids and getting to see them grow.”

Dr. Huggins believes that pediatrics is as much about communication as it is about medicine. She forges close bonds with the families she looks after, tailoring her recommendations about anything from sleep and potty training to food choices and beyond to the individual needs of the child and the parents. To that end, she is exceptionally skilled in meeting children at their level—whether through play, observation, or creative questioning—to understand what’s going on beneath the surface.

As a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Dr. Huggins holds traditional medical school training as well as additional years of training in the principles and practices of osteopathy, which takes a whole-body approach with a focus in the lymphatic and musculoskeletal systems. She finds this extremely helpful in treating children who are constantly getting colds and respiratory infections.

“I try to have fun each day, no matter what,” says Dr. Huggins. “I know firsthand how stressful parenting can be, and I am here to make things less scary for kids and their parents at every encounter we have.”

When she is not caring for her patients she enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons in Brooklyn, doing pilates, yoga, swimming, and biking, and she absolutely loves to read. “I read everything,” Dr. Huggins says.