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The Lifestyle Medicine Program will expand to serve qualifying NYC Health + Hospitals adult patients at Elmhurst Hospital.
By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams and NYC Health + Hospitals on Monday announced the expansion of lifestyle medicine services at six public health care sites across the five boroughs—the most comprehensive expansion of lifestyle medicine programming in the country, Adams noted.
Modeled off the popular and successful Plant-Based Lifestyle Medicine Program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, the new expansion will provide patients living with chronic disease the tools to make healthy lifestyle changes, included providing access to plant-based diet resources. The program will expand to serve qualifying NYC Health + Hospitals adult patients at Elmhurst, Jacobi, Lincoln, Woodhull, and Kings County hospitals, as well as Gotham Health, Vanderbilt. The program expansion will be implemented over the coming year.
In 2019, with the advocacy of then-Brooklyn Borough President Adams, the Bellevue Plant-Based Lifestyle Medicine Program was launched. The program takes an interdisciplinary approach to reduce patients’ cardiometabolic risk, where a team of physicians, dietitians, and health coaches support patients in making evidence-based lifestyle changes, including adopting a healthy plant-based diet, increasing physical activity, improving sleep habits, reducing stress, avoiding risky substances, and providing social support. The program has received national attention and there has been a high demand for services, including self-referrals from more than 850 New York City residents.
Each of the sites that will be receiving the expanded lifestyle medicine services will be equipped with a full-time dietitian and health coach, as well as physician teams. Participants will be referred by their health care providers or can self-refer. Eligibility criteria for participants include heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, and/or health concerns related to obesity.
Patients who enroll in one of the programs will receive a full medical evaluation by a team physician, with special attention to current lifestyle behaviors and social needs. They will also meet individually with a dietitian and a health coach and will participate in group education on topics including nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress reduction, and other lifestyle pillars. The lifestyle medicine team will individualize the behavior change approach for each patient, considering cultural traditions, socioeconomic circumstances, family situations, and other key factors.
“Today, New York City is again leading the way with the most comprehensive expansion of lifestyle medicine programming in the nation,” Adams said. “This is personal to me—a plant-based lifestyle helped save my life, and I’m thrilled that New Yorkers in every zip code will have access to this critical programming. Together, we will stop feeding the health care crisis and ensure all New Yorkers can access the healthy lifestyle they deserve.”
In addition to expanding access to lifestyle medicine services, NYC Health + Hospitals will partner with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine to help provide additional lifestyle medicine training to care teams, as well as with Plant-Powered Metro New York to offer cooking demonstrations to patients at the Kings County Hospital site.
“I have seen the benefits of lifestyle medicine for patients with chronic diseases in my own clinical practice,” said City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi. “As we continue to fight COVID-19, scaling these services will help build a healthier city for all New Yorkers. I applaud NYC Health + Hospitals for expanding this evidence-based program.”
