STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A Stapleton health clinic became the latest site offering a New York City lifestyle medicine program last week.
NYC Health + Hospitals, the city’s public hospital system, celebrated the launch of the new program with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its Gotham Health Vanderbilt clinic at the corner of Tompkins and Vanderbilt avenues.
Michelle McMacken, executive director of Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals, applauded the launch of the new program on Staten Island that encourages patients to make lifestyle changes, including a healthful plant-based diet, increased physical activity, improved sleep habits, stress reduction, avoidance of substance use, and stronger social connections.
“Healthy lifestyle behaviors are foundational to preventing and treating common chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure,” McMacken said. “The Lifestyle Medicine Program’s talented interdisciplinary team will provide patients with the guidance they need to adopt healthier habits, while also helping to address food insecurity and other key barriers to lifestyle change.”
The city launched the program at Bellevue Hospital in 2019 before bringing it to Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx, Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, and Woodhull and Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn. Officials plan to bring the program to an additional site that has yet to be identified.
The Gotham Health, Vanderbilt program can accommodate 32 new patients each month, and the care team includes physicians, a nurse practitioner, a dietitian, a health coach, a program coordinator, and an exercise trainer.
Adults who are pre-diabetic, living with type 2 diabetes, have high blood pressure, heart disease, or health concerns related to excess weight are eligible to enroll in the program.
Aspects of the lifestyle health initiative include one-on-one counseling sessions, group classes, six months of free deliveries of seasonal fresh produce, and culinary…
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