NYAM IN ACTION 2021

Making Transformative Change for Health Equity

At The New York Academy of Medicine, we are committed to addressing the root causes of health inequities: the systems that prevent everyone from having an equal opportunity to live a healthy life. In 2021, we remained focused on our critical work to amplify community voices, be a reliable source for trusted information, and generate research that informs equitable policies and practices. We invite you to scroll through highlights of our innovative research, and programs and policy initiatives, which focused on changing systems and improving health for all. We are hopeful for a healthier year ahead, and we are grateful for your partnership and support as we move boldly forward to advance equity in new and innovative ways.

Dr. Wayne J. Riley receiving his vaccine shot

PRIORITIZING EQUITY IN NEW YORK’S COVID RECOVERY

This year NYAM did not ease up on our COVID-19 work as we continued to address the systemic issues that paved the way for its inequitably destructive path. We worked to expand equitable and informed access to vaccines for at-risk communities, and we studied and shared data on equitable vaccine distribution and infection prevention and control in nursing homes. Our programs and research provided invaluable evidence to public health, legislative, and programmatic decision-makers in New York and beyond.

Equitable Distribution of the COVID-19 Vaccines

In the fall of 2020 through early 2021, NYAM partnered with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on an innovative project to understand New Yorkers’ points of view on fair distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines at a time when initial supplies were limited. Discussions with a cross-section of city residents, using a public deliberation approach, yielded a wealth of information that helped to inform New York City’s plans for an equitable rollout of the vaccine in communities across the city.

VIEW REPORT

Building Collaborations to Improve Vaccine Access & Education

NYAM also launched the COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Action Collaborative, which brings together health systems, public health, and community and faith-based leaders to focus on increasing vaccine access and education in under-resourced communities in the New York City region. In addition to convening a steering committee and providing a range of technical assistance resources, the collaborative is focused on developing a vaccine equity policy agenda.

Steps to a More Age-friendly Manhattan Report Cover

Using Local Data to Improve COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

Neighborhood-level data is a crucial resource in informing vaccine delivery. NYAM’s data visualization tool IMAGE: NYC, the Interactive Map of Aging, provided a sophisticated mapping resource to help government agencies, service providers and other professionals identify neighborhoods with specific socio-demographic risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes. NYAM also published research in the J ournal of Urban Health that highlighted how tools like IMAGE: NYC leverage data to address vaccine distribution challenges.

MAPPING TOOL

Informing Infection Prevention and Control in Long-term Care Facilities

Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have experienced a disproportionate share of deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. NYAM has focused on improving infection prevention in these settings through research, education and resource development. In 2021 we partnered with the Yale School of Nursing (YSN), with support from Saraya Co. LTD, to release the first-of-its-kind Infection Prevention Compendium for Long-Term Care Facilities. This digital hub includes original research and globally sourced infection prevention guides, resources and toolkits that address the complex operational elements of long-term care facilities.

The quotes below are from certified nursing assistants (CNAs) who worked in long-term care facilities in New York during the pandemic. Their experiences are highlighted in NYAM’s report “Infection Prevention and Control in Nursing Homes in the COVID Era,” which is included in the compendium.

“It’s the risk, but the job I’m doing, it has to get done because if I don’t do it, who will do it?”

– Certified Nursing Assistant
Infection Prevention and Control in Nursing Homes in the COVID Era

“That added pressure [from caring for vulnerable patients] is something, and you can feel it. It’s tense, you know? Because we’re working with human souls, and if we’re not careful … one false step or one missed move and things can go really bad.”

– Certified Nursing Assistant
Infection Prevention and Control in Nursing Homes in the COVID Era

“I always emphasize, you know, the way you want your parents to be treated is the way you treat your residents. That’s my philosophy.”

– Certified Nursing Assistant
Infection Prevention and Control in Nursing Homes in the COVID Era

“We were the forgotten frontline workers, and we still are. I don’t think anybody realized what we had to deal with.”

– Certified Nursing Assistant
Infection Prevention and Control in Nursing Homes in the COVID Era

Leading Learning & Action on Infection Control in NY Facilities

NYAM also partnered with LeadingAge New York to serve as a Training Center for the AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network, an interactive community of practice for nursing home staff to collaboratively advance improvements in COVID-19 preparedness, safety and infection control in more than 100 facilities across New York State. The training center also served as a vehicle for educating nursing home staff about the vaccine.

Advancing Collaborative Health Equity Research

NYAM and the NYC Health Department are leading Health Data for NYC (HD4NYC), an innovative partnership to advance health equity in New York City by generating research that can be translated into policies and programs. HD4NYC’s unique working group model facilitates access to Health Department data, mentorship and collaboration for early- and mid-career academic and Health Department researchers. In-progress studies by the COVID-19 working group include the influence of the pandemic on birth outcomes among immigrant parents in NYC; COVID-19 vaccine confidence among foreign-born New Yorkers; and race, ethnicity, and air pollution in COVID-19 mortality in NYC.

Addressing Food Insecurity in NYC

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of food insecure New Yorkers nearly doubled from estimates of 1.2 million to 2 million–approximately a quarter of the city’s population (NYC Food Bank Report). With four-year funding from the National Institutes of Health, NYAM is studying the impact of COVID-19 on food insecurity on NYC. The study also examines how strong community partnerships can improve public health outcomes for limited-resource populations. In 2021, we interviewed individuals working in food and nutrition programming across, who shared challenges but also successes in terms of new and strengthened community partnerships to address food shortages.

Sharing Timely and Factual Health Information

In 2021, we saw a tremendous amount of disinformation and misinformation continue to confuse the public. At NYAM, we’ve always been a go-to source for reliable information, and this year, more participants than ever from across the health professions attended or viewed our virtual public programs to learn from our trusted sources.

Events and Conferences for Health Professionals

NYAM expanded our virtual event offerings by launching a new roundtable discussion series, leading three major conferences, and hosting numerous panels and lectures on current and historical health topics—all with a focus on equity. We brought together leading experts to share research and action steps related to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, maternal and child health, mental health, health advocacy and more.

NYAM President Dr. Judith A. Salerno and guest expert Dr. Peter J. Hotez discuss the importance of vaccinating children against COVID-19 as part of the Around the Table series.

Around the Table: Tackling Health Equity Issues Together

Our new Around the Table series welcomed prominent guest experts to discuss critical health issues including vaccine hesitancy, mental health protections for healthcare professionals, and vaccines for children, with a focus on sharing data-driven solutions and ways to take action. Following each event, NYAM widely distributed related resources and action steps on the featured topic.

Maternal & Child Health Equity Summit

NYAM partnered with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Penn Medicine to present a special summit that featured cutting-edge research and discussions on advancing maternal and child health equity. Through presentations, panels and conversations with leading New York City and national health experts on maternal and infant health, the summit shared information and action steps to create more equitable health outcomes for mothers and children.

Advocacy in Medicine Conference: The Ongoing Impact of COVID-19

NYAM hosted the fourth annual Advocacy in Medicine Conference in partnership with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. This conference is organized by a committee of health professions students from institutions across New York City. This year’s theme was the ongoing impact of COVID-19; the event featured keynote speakers, a panel on advocacy and activism, topic-specific workshops, and student research presentations.

Inequalities Unmasked: What Pandemics Reveal About Race and U.S. Society, from Yellow Fever to COVID-19

As part of the NYAM Library’s History of Medicine series, Dr. Keith Wailoo of Princeton University spoke on the social inequalities revealed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., in relation to past pandemics—from yellow fever through cholera, influenza and HIV/AIDS. Dr. Wailoo’s talk demonstrated how several themes that emerged during COVID-19—including blame, vulnerability, and racial and class inequality—are familiar in the history of pandemics in the U.S.

Slideshow: NYAM’s 2021 distinguished awardees

NYAM’s 2021 Annual Awards event, Innovators in Health, recognized an outstanding group of scientists and healthcare leaders whose work has helped us understand and respond to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, address its devastating impacts, and move the world toward a healthier future. This year’s honorees included five of the leading vaccine scientists who contributed to developing the COVID-19 vaccines, as well as national leaders on protecting the mental health of frontline healthcare professionals and building vaccine confidence in communities of color. At the event, these luminaries spoke about their groundbreaking work, with a focus on the importance of collaboration and ensuring equity in the continued response to COVID-19.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also joined the event as a special guest speaker. Dr. Fauci addressed his remarks to NYAM’s Fellows and other health professionals, focusing on the remarkable scientific achievements of COVID-19 vaccine development, the challenges ahead, and the critical importance of investing in public health.

DEEPENING OUR COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY VOICES

At NYAM, we believe that the power to influence change to advance health starts with community members. That’s why we are committed to centering community voices in our research, policy efforts, and programs. Together, we are finding new ways to make New York a healthier place for people of all ages.

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Partnerships with Community Members to Advance Health Equity

Through our Health Equity Action Agenda, NYAM has made a commitment to build access and share power with individuals and communities whose influence on NYAM’s work has not been fully realized. As part of this work, we established a Community Program Advisory Board (CPAB). The CPAB works to ensure that NYAM’s work is relevant and informed by community members with diverse backgrounds, and to strengthen the impact of NYAM’s research, programming and community outreach. This vital group plays an integral role in NYAM’s mission to advance health equity.

Jill W. Dingle

James Railey

Carmen Garcia

Yvonne Foster-Kilpatrick

Ariela Florentino

Monique Fortune

Oriana Sanchez

Lauraberth Lima

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Partnering with East Harlem Community Members to Improve Child Health and Well-Being

NYAM is committed to developing programs that sustainably shift power from institutions to communities. Established in 2018, our East Harlem Action Collaborative for Child Health and Well-being (EHAC) continues to support and foster the leadership skills of East Harlem residents who are caregivers of young children. EHAC is working to identify and recommend program and policy solutions to help the children of East Harlem thrive. In 2021, EHAC’s resident leaders completed training in conducting research and earned IRB certification. Subsequently, the resident leaders designed and implemented an online, survey-based research study to learn which local organizations and services East Harlem residents know about, use, and like to support the health and well-being of their children and families. Resident leaders plan to disseminate the findings from their study within the community and to use their findings to advocate for steering resources to those organizations that are best meeting the needs of East Harlem’s children and families.

EHAC Resident Leaders Sharon Cotton and Cheryl Starks-Payne provided an introduction to the collaborative’s work at the 2021 EHAC Town Hall.

“EHAC quiere asegurarse de que las familias en East Harlem tengan lo que necesitan para criar a sus hijos y familias en una comunidad saludable, segura y amorosa. El año pasado, EHAC desarrolló una guía de recursos en línea con listas de organizaciones que brindan servicios a niños y familias en East Harlem. Este estudio nos ayuda a desarrollar esa guía… queremos poder conectar a los niños y las familias en East Harlem con recursos que satisfagan sus necesidades.”

Marleny de la Cruz

Líder residente de EHAC

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EHAC Resident Leader Marleny de la Cruz highlights EHAC’s resource guide and study, both of which aim to connect East Harlem children and families with resources that meet their needs. Hover over the quote to see the English translation.

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Building Collaborations to Support Maternal Health

In 2021, NYAM’s Center for Community Partnerships and Policy Solutions partnered with the NYC Health Department on a community-based research project to advance reproductive justice and health equity for birthing people. The project aimed to improve collaborations between birthing people, families, community organizations, hospitals and healthcare providers. As part of this work, NYAM hosted a series of virtual community conversations with NYC residents, birth justice advocates, and healthcare providers to identify strengths in individuals, families, and communities that lead to better outcomes and experiences and solicit recommendations for addressing systemic issues.

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Enhancing Age-friendly Neighborhoods During COVID-19

The experiences and perspectives of older adults are at the heart of NYAM’s longstanding work in healthy aging. In 2021 our Age-friendly Neighborhoods Convening brought together more than 20 community and government leaders from all five boroughs to navigate the pandemic recovery together, focusing on issues selected by older adults in their communities. With the support of the New York Community Trust, we also awarded grants to several participating groups to implement innovative programs for older adults, from fitness and nutrition to hybrid programming. To further support age-friendly neighborhood organizations across the U.S. in sustaining, growing and funding their work, we also released the Age-friendly Neighborhoods toolkit based on learnings from this initiative.