Originally from Central Massachusetts, Manning Family Children’s David Yu first arrived in New Orleans as an undergraduate at Tulane University. Drawn to the city’s culture, resilience, and sense of community, he found not just a place to train, but a place to build a life and a career dedicated to caring for children. Today, he is a pediatric surgeon and Chief Medical Officer at Manning Family Children’s, where he treats patients from infancy through young adulthood.
Pediatric surgery is as demanding as it is meaningful, requiring the full breadth of adult surgical training, along with a deeper, more nuanced understanding of how illness and injury affect growing bodies. For Dr. Yu, the work is both technical and profoundly human. From complex congenital conditions to urgent, life-saving interventions, every case represents not just a patient, but a family placing its trust in his hands.
For more than 70 years, Manning Family Children’s has stood at the center of pediatric care in the Gulf South. As an anchor institution and a lifeline for families across the region, it is Louisiana’s only freestanding, comprehensive children’s hospital. Manning Family Children’s continues to expand what’s possible for kids, caring for a record 680,000 children in 2025 alone. Its nationally recognized programs—spanning cancer and blood disorders, neonatology, pulmonology, rehabilitation, behavioral health, trauma and grief, and more than 40 pediatric specialties—reflect a singular mission: to care for every child who needs them.
Yet the challenges facing children today are evolving—and, in many cases, intensifying. “We’re in the midst of a behavioral health crisis among adolescents,” Dr. Yu said. “And over the past decade, firearm injury has become the leading cause of death for children. These are not abstract issues; they are what we see every day.”
In response, Manning Family Children’s is not standing still. The hospital is home to Louisiana’s first Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, delivering the highest level of emergency care when every second matters. At the same time, its physicians and researchers are pushing the boundaries of what pediatric medicine can achieve—developing and advancing breakthrough therapies for conditions like sickle cell disease, which disproportionately impacts children in Louisiana.
“For many of these children, we are no longer just managing disease—we are talking about the possibility of a cure,” Dr. Yu said. “That means giving kids the chance to grow up, to dream, to live full and healthy lives.”
Beyond its hospital walls, Manning Family Children’s is equally committed to strengthening the community it serves. Through initiatives like ThriveKids, the organization is addressing the full spectrum of child health, supporting students’ physical, emotional, and academic well-being. Outreach programs focused on injury prevention and safety, from bike helmets to car seats to safe firearm storage, are helping families protect what matters most.
At its core, the work is guided by a simple but powerful belief: every child deserves access to exceptional care, regardless of circumstance. It’s a promise that has defined Manning Family Children’s for generations and one that continues to shape its future. For Dr. Yu, that mission is personal. In a city that first welcomed him as a student, he now plays a role in caring for the next generation—one child, one family, one life at a time.
Hometown: Westminster, Massachusetts
Dogs or Cats: Dogs
Ideal Night Out: Good food and good conversation.
manningchildrens.org | 504-899-9511| 200 Henry Clay Avenue, New Orleans
