Lifestyle medicine program expands to NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull as part of citywide expansion

November 16, 2023

NYC Health + Hospitals announced today that its nationally recognized lifestyle medicine program has expanded to NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull in Brooklyn. This is the second of six new locations offering the program across the city, following the recent launch at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi in the Bronx. The pilot program, launched in 2019 at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue with the support of then-Borough President Eric Adams, has already treated hundreds of patients. The Lifestyle Medicine Program team supports patients in making evidence-based lifestyle changes, including eating a healthy plant-based diet, increasing physical activity, improving sleep habits, reducing stress, avoiding substance use, and strengthening social connections. Adults with prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or health problems related to being overweight are eligible. The program has capacity for 48 new patients per month, and the care team at each location includes physicians, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives (Woodhull only), nutritionists, health coaches, community health workers, psychologists, programs Coordinator and athletic trainer. The six new sites include NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi and Woodhull, which have already launched, and NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, Lincoln, Elmhurst and Gotham Health, Vanderbilt, which will launch in the coming months. Current NYC Health + Hospitals patients can get referrals to the program from their providers, and people who are not yet NYC Health + Hospitals patients can see if they are eligible for the program by contacting 347-507-3695.

“As we work across agencies to ensure that all New Yorkers have equitable access to healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food so they can live longer, healthier lives, we must be equally relentless in our efforts to target disease and illness. key driver of equality,” says Kate McKenzie, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy. “We commend NYC Health + Hospitals for their continued partnership to comprehensively improve life expectancy in underserved communities across the five boroughs. Through this access expansion, New Yorkers in Brooklyn who are disproportionately affected by chronic disease will finally have the opportunities and tools to transition to Whole foods, plant-based diets and other healthy behavior changes they deserve.”

“I am delighted to celebrate the launch of the NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull Lifestyle Medicine Program,” said Michelle McMacken, MD, FACP, DipABLM, Executive Director of Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine, NYC Health + Hospitals. “A healthy lifestyle is the foundation for preventing and treating common chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. The Lifestyle Medicine Program’s talented interdisciplinary team will provide patients with the guidance they need to develop healthier habits while helping address food Insecurity and other major barriers to lifestyle change. Thank you NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull for providing this valuable resource to patients and the community.”

“I’m excited to announce the launch of our lifestyle medicine program,” said Gregory Calliste, CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull. “This measure marks a major step forward in our commitment to high-quality health care, emphasizing the central role of healthy lifestyle habits in preventing and treating chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Our program is characterized by Our dedicated team is committed to helping our communities take control of their health and well-being. The Lifestyle Medicine program is a testament to that commitment.”

“Healthier lifestyle choices will lead to significant improvements in many chronic conditions and our aim is to support people to make sustainable changes that ultimately lead to health and happiness,” he said. Gül Bahtiyar, MD, Medical Director, NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull Lifestyle Medicine Program. “Imagine a person who no longer needs to inject insulin to treat diabetes or take medication to treat blood pressure. That would be a success story that needs to be shared with many people.”

“We know that many chronic diseases can be controlled, improved and even reversed through lifestyle changes,” Jonathan Giftos, MD, Director of Ambulatory Care, NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull. “But the process can be overwhelming, and our patients often make these changes without adequate education, guidance and support. So I’m excited that we are able to offer lifestyle medicine at Woodhull program, giving us the time and resources to work effectively with patients as they make changes in their lives to achieve their health goals.”

“Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses lifestyle interventions to treat chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and obesity,” says Tania Desgrottes, Associate Executive Director, Ambulatory Care, NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, Massachusetts. “Providing our patients with the tools and resources they need to fight chronic disease is an important step in improving the quality of life for many of our patients. The program focuses on whole-food diets, physical activity, sleep management, and stress management. We look forward to providing our patients with additional clinical services to help them achieve their health goals.”

“The doctors and staff here are very friendly and attentive,” Davi V. Baez, patient in NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull Lifestyle Medicine Program. “This is a team that cares about you and they are genuine. They are excited about your progress. That inspires anyone to keep going. It’s Thanksgiving next week and I’m thinking about what I’m going to do differently this year. I’m going to Eat mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes. I want to eat a rainbow of vegetables – red and yellow. This plan is long overdue for me. This is really going to affect a lot of people.”

Lifestyle Medicine’s nine-month program provides each patient with the following resources:

• 6 to 9 one-on-one tutoring sessions. Patients will have 2-3 separate visits with a physician, licensed nurse practitioner or certified nursing midwife, nutritionist, and health coach to develop and implement a personalized care plan.
• 14 group classes per week. Topics include reading nutrition labels, grocery shopping, meal planning and preparation, and sleep and stress management tips.
• 8 exercise classes per week.Patients will work with an athletic trainer and take home a resistance band for strength training.
• 6 free deliveries of seasonal fresh produce per month. Patients will work with a nutritionist to learn how to incorporate fruits and vegetables into their diet, across culinary traditions and skill levels. Each produce box comes with delicious, healthy recipes developed by our team of nutritionists. (available early 2024)
• healthy stag. Patients will receive Health Bucks, which are $2 coupons that can be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at New York City farmers markets. Five of the seven program sites have farmers markets on campus.
• Cooking Tips Video. Patients can learn cooking skills through short videos developed by the Lifestyle Medicine team in collaboration with online cooking school Rouxbe. The videos will showcase healthy cooking from a variety of culinary traditions, including Caribbean, South American, Central American and South Asian, and will be translated into Spanish, Mandarin, Bengali and Haitian Creole. (available early 2024)
• A plant-based cookbook. Recipes for a plant-based diet for type 2 diabetes are also available.
• Support access to benefits. Community health workers will help eligible patients access SNAP benefits and nutritional resources.

Each site will work with local community organizations to explore ways to support community members in nutrition and other aspects of lifestyle change. NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull’s lifestyle medicine program will partner with Brooklyn-based RiseBoro.

“RiseBoro is delighted to be partnering with Woodhull Hospital to become part of the lifestyle medicine program,” said Jasmine Bethancourt, director of community food and nutrition programming at RiseBoro. “This will provide our customers with another way to manage chronic conditions. We also see this as a way to support the existing health programs we offer internally. This is RiseBoro’s way of expanding the programs that members of the Bushwick community can participate in.” One way.”

Once all sites are up and running, the program will be able to accommodate nearly 4,000 patients per year. With support from the City of New York, NYC Health + Hospitals will invest $3 million this year and approximately $5 million annually over the next several years to fund staffing and planning services for the lifestyle medicine program.

We pay particular attention to ensuring that the curriculum is relevant to patients from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. For example, Spanish courses reflect cultural adaptation, not just translations of the English version. In addition, individual visits with medical providers, nutritionists, and health coaches can provide behavioral change recommendations tailored to each patient’s social, economic, cultural, and family background.

Formal evaluation of the Bellevue pilot program demonstrated successful implementation, extremely high demand for services (more than 850 patients requested enrollment in the first few months), and positive health outcomes, including clinical and statistical weight and glycemic control and significant improvements in health. diastolic blood pressure.

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Media contact information: 212-788-3339; PressOffice@nychhc.org

About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the nation’s largest municipal health care system, serving more than 1 million New Yorkers annually at more than 70 patient care sites across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, community-based primary and specialty care centers coordinates care with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agencies and MetroPlus health plans, all supported by 11 primary hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is focused on helping New Yorkers, without exception, live their healthiest lives. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, TwitterInstagram and LinkedIn.