Health for Life ROBYN TURETSKY • Program Coordinator • rkt9001@nyp.org x JANE CHANG, MD • Medical Director, Health for Life East • jac9009@med.cornell.edu x JOHN RAUSCH, MD • Medical Director, Health for Life West • jr2163@cumc.columbia.edu Mission and Goals
The mission of Health for Life (H4L), a comprehensive weight management program, is to provide a safe and supportive environment for 4-to-18year-olds and their families who wish to improve their health by eating a better diet and increasing their physical activity. Through individual clinic visits and group programming, H4L empowers participants to make healthier lifestyle choices for themselves and their families. H4L staff members work with patients who have been identified as overweight or obese by their primary care physicians, based on BMI percentile. Patients meet with doctors, dietitians, social workers, and a clinical exercise physiologist at clinic visits. Participants age 7 and older can engage in 8-week group programs, with each session consisting of one hour of nutrition education and one hour of physical activity.
Number of People Reached
education to community partners. Presentations
250
• F oundations in Lifestyle Medicine course presentation to Weill Cornell Medicine students, 2017.
Key Accomplishments
• P resentation of Health for Life research results to the Weil Cornell Medicine Atkins Journal Club.
• In 2018 H4L expanded and is now a bicampus program serving NewYorkPresbyterian Ambulatory Care Network patients at the Broadway Practice and the HT-5 Pediatric Practice. • Program participants have reported trying new foods in a group setting, eliminating sugary beverages from the house, and increasing daily walking. • H4L staff participate in community outreach initiatives throughout the year to bring nutrition and fitness
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