On June 11, the Director of the New York City Department of Health (DOHMH), Dr. Ashwin Vasan, held the “HealthyNYC Champions” forum at the Mayor’s official residence, Gracie Mansion. The forum brought together experts from various fields of medical and health to discuss the current health issues facing New Yorkers and the corresponding measures. Representatives from diverse ethnic communities, healthcare worker unions, and community organizations attended the event.
The forum aimed to support the health initiative “HealthyNYC” by the city’s health department. As the pandemic has shortened the average life expectancy of Americans, the initiative involves working with medical and healthcare experts to educate the public on COVID-19, chronic diseases, mental health, suicide prevention, and enhance the health awareness of New Yorkers through data analysis. The project aims to extend the average life expectancy of New Yorkers to 83 years by 2030.
Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the Commissioner of DOHMH, highlighted in an interview with “Epoch Times” that while Asians have the highest life expectancy among New Yorkers, different Asian subgroups, such as Southeast Asian immigrants, East Asian immigrants, and South Asian immigrants, are prone to different diseases. For instance, South Asian immigrants are more likely to be affected by preventable cancers compared to East Asian immigrants, and new male immigrants from East Asia are more susceptible to smoking-related diseases.
Last year on June 28, Dr. Vasan and the Director of Tobacco Policy and Programs at the Health Department, Achala Talatei, organized a roundtable meeting with Chinese media at the Health Department headquarters to promote the Chinese language quit-smoking hotline and raise awareness about nicotine replacement therapy covered by all New York state health insurance.
As Asian immigrants continue to arrive in New York City, Dr. Vasan mentioned that the Health Department actively collaborates with Asian Pacific Islander community service organizations. Just six weeks ago, he worked with nearly 30 Asian Pacific Islander community organizations, including the Chinese Planning Council, to advocate for mental health initiatives. The goal is to disseminate mental health information in languages familiar to Asian immigrants.
At the “HealthyNYC Champions” forum, the panelists included Kenneth Raske, President and CEO of the Greater New York Hospital Association; Naveen Rao, Senior Vice President of Health at The Rockefeller Foundation; Karen Ignagni, CEO of EmblemHealth; and Dr. Ayman El-Mohandes, Dean of the CUNY School of Public Health.
Anne Williams-Isom, Deputy Mayor for Public Health of New York City, and Lynn Schulman, Chair of the New York City Council’s Mental Health Committee, delivered speeches at the event. The forum was moderated by Meg Tirrell, a medical news reporter at CNN.
For more information on “HealthyNYC,” visit: https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/about/about-doh/healthynyc.page. To join the promotion of health information by “HealthyNYC Champions,” submit an application online at: nyc.gov/healthynycpartner.
For information on the Health Department’s Chinese language quit-smoking services, call the Mandarin and Cantonese hotlines: 800-838-8917, or visit the official Chinese Quitline website at: asiansmokersquitline.org.