Lifestyle Medicine program expands to NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County as part of citywide expansion

Lifestyle Medicine program expands to NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County as part of citywide expansion

November 30, 2023

New York, NY — NYC Health + Hospitals today announced that its nationally recognized Lifestyle Medicine program has expanded to NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County in Brooklyn. This is the third of six new locations to make the program available across the city, following the recent launch of the program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi in the Bronx and NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull in Brooklyn. The pilot program, launched at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue in 2019 with the support of then-Borough President Eric Adams, has already seen hundreds of patients. The Lifestyle Medicine Program team supports patients in making evidence-based lifestyle changes, including a healthy plant-based diet, increased physical activity, improved sleep habits, stress reduction, avoidance of substance use, and stronger social connections. Adults with prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or health conditions related to obesity are eligible to enroll. The program welcomes 48 new patients each month and the care team at each location includes physicians, nurses, certified midwives (Woodhull only), a dietitian, a health coach, community health workers, a psychologist, a program coordinator and an exercise trainer. The six new sites include NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, Woodhull and Kings County, which have already launched, and NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, Lincoln and Gotham Health, Vanderbilt which will launch in the coming months. Current patients of NYC Health + Hospitals can receive a referral to the program from their healthcare provider, and people who are not yet patients of NYC Health + Hospitals can see if they are eligible to participate in the program by contacting 347- 507-3695.

“Being a Food Forward NYC means ensuring that all New Yorkers can make healthy behavior changes, which for some could include switching to a completely plant-based diet,” said Kate MacKenzie, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy. “We are grateful for Health + Hospitals’ continued partnership in tackling upstream the leading causes of disease and inequality that are critical to holistically increasing life expectancy in underserved communities across the five boroughs. “Through this expansion of lifestyle medicine, New Yorkers disproportionately affected by chronic conditions in Kings County will have access to the tools and interdisciplinary support that can help them live the longer, healthier lives they deserve.”

“I am thrilled to celebrate the launch of the Lifestyle Medicine Program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County,” said Michelle McMacken, MD, FACP, DipABLM, Executive Director of Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals. “Healthy lifestyle behaviors are fundamental to preventing and treating common chronic conditions 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 adopt healthier habits, while helping to address food insecurity and other key barriers to lifestyle change. Kudos to NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County for bringing this valuable resource to patients and the community.”

“The launch of our Lifestyle Medicine program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County is a testament to our commitment to holistic wellness,” said Sheldon McLeod, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. “We are pleased to offer a program that provides our patients with the tools to adopt healthier habits, such as access to plant-based eating materials and individual counseling sessions. With our Lifestyle Medicine Program, we are revolutionizing healthcare by offering more than just treatment: we offer empowerment.”

“I have high cholesterol and prediabetes, so my doctor referred me to the Lifestyle Medicine Program,” said Timothy Nicholls, a patient in the Lifestyle Medicine Program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. “I’m learning how to make better choices about what I eat. I eat more vegetables, more celery, more fruit. I am learning how to move more and walk more. The program is exactly what I was looking for.”

“This is a program with a difference.” said Paulette James, a patient in the Lifestyle Medicine Program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. “It’s about getting to know you and knowing exactly what’s bothering you: how you live, what you do, how you eat. It is beautiful. The time they take to get to know you blew me away.

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

• 6 to 9 individual guidance sessions. Patients receive 2-3 visits each with a doctor, nurse or certified midwife, a dietitian, and a health coach to develop and implement a personalized care plan.
• 14 weekly group lessons. Topics include reading nutrition labels, grocery shopping, meal planning and preparation, and sleep and stress management techniques.

• 8 weekly exercise classesPatients work with an exercise trainer and take home a resistance band for strength training.
• 6 free monthly deliveries of seasonal fresh products. Patients will work with dietitians to learn about incorporating fruits and vegetables into their diet, regardless of culinary traditions and skill levels. Each product box contains delicious and healthy recipes, developed by the team’s dietitians. (Launch early 2024)
• Health money. Patients will have access to Health Bucks, which are $2 coupons that can be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at New York farmers markets. Five of the seven program locations have farmers markets on their campus.
• Videos about culinary skills. Patients can learn cooking skills through short videos developed by the Lifestyle Medicine team in collaboration with an online culinary school, Rouxbe. The videos will feature healthy cooking from various culinary traditions, including Caribbean, South American, Central American and South Asian, and will be translated into Spanish, Mandarin, Bengali and Haitian Creole. (Launch early 2024)
• A plant-based cookbook. There are also cookbooks available about plant-based eating for type 2 diabetes.
• Support in accessing benefits. Community health workers will help eligible patients access SNAP benefits and nutrition resources.

Each location will work with local community organizations to explore ways to support community members with nutrition and other aspects of lifestyle change. NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County’s Lifestyle Medicine program will collaborate with United Community Centers in Brooklyn.

“We are very excited to work together to share preventive solutions with community members who want to live healthier lives,” said Sarah Bacio, Assistant Project Director at Farms in East New Yorka project of United Community Centers. “I hope this partnership strengthens our relationship with NYC Health + Hospitals and provides our market visitors with valuable resources and support to empower them to make healthier choices. Connecting people to fresh, organic and locally grown produce and providing a space where they can learn how to make more informed health decisions is invaluable!”

Once all locations are launched, 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 commit $3 million this year and approximately $5 million annually for the next several years to fund staffing and programmatic services for the Lifestyle Medicine programs.

Particular attention has been paid to ensuring that the curriculum is relevant to patients with different backgrounds and experiences. For example, the Spanish-language curriculum reflects cultural adaptations, not simply a translation of the English-language version. In addition, individual visits with the medical providers, dietitian and health coach allow for tailor-made behavioral change recommendations based on each patient’s social, financial, cultural and family context.

Formal evaluations of the Bellevue pilot program revealed a successful implementation process, extremely high demand for services (over 850 patients requested to enroll in the first few months), and positive health outcomes, including clinically and statistically significant improvements in weight, glycemic control and diastolic blood pressure.

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MEDIA CONTACT: 212-788-3339; PressOffice@nychhc.org

About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the nation’s largest municipal healthcare system, serving more than one million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, community-based primary care centers and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home health agencies and the MetroPlus health plan, all supported by eleven essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on enabling New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest lives possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, TweetInstagram and LinkedIn.