From a Church in the Living Room to Feeding Thousands in the Bronx

Bronx Health REACH continues its series on individuals who have made a significant contribution to the Institute for Family Health's Bronx Health REACH, and have also been strong activists for needed change in the Black and Latino communities in the Bronx. A notable member of this group of change agents is The Reverend John Udo-Okon, Senior Pastor at the Word of Life International in the Bronx, New York, and a partner in the Bronx Health REACH faith based outreach initiative.


The Rev. John Udo-Okon's first Bronx location for his church, Word of Life International, was the size of a living room. In fact, it was his living room where his parishioners gathered in the one bedroom Bronx apartment he shared with his family. Born and raised in Nigeria, Pastor John worked with missionaries from the Sudan United Mission-Christian Reformed Church in Northern Nigeria to develop Christian shows for television and film productions in Nigeria. In 1998 Pastor John took a two year sabbatical from his work in Nigeria to spend time with his wife, Rev. Felicia Udo-Okon, who lived in United States. He lived in the Bronx intending to return to Nigeria after his sabbatical, but , as Pastor John puts it, “God had other plans for him.”

“I was praying and talking to other people of faith, and I was thinking of starting a ministry in the Bronx, but I kept asking myself, how do I start it? Then I heard a voice, ‘Start where you are.’ We were living in a one bedroom apartment on the fourth floor, and I was convinced that God wanted me to start a church in the apartment, so I told my wife let’s turn our living room into a church. Neighbors began attending every Sunday."

After seeing many people visiting the apartment, a neighbor informed Pastor John that he could not have people coming to his house for church every Sunday; “If you want to have a church, you need to find a larger space.” So Pastor John began to pray, and again, he heard a voice: “Go to White Plains Road by 214th Street.” He went to White Plains Road and 214th Street, and as he was standing on the corner a man came up to him and asked if he was looking for a space for his church. Pastor John was led to 3636 Holland Avenue, which became the new location for Word of Life International. Even though he now had a larger space, the area was drug infested. “Gun shots could be heard during services and drug dealers would run into the church and leave their drugs behind. The parishioners became wary of the new location. So we began to go out into the neighborhood and stand on the street corners along with the drug dealers and talk and pray with them. Eventually the drug dealers moved on, and after a few months with police involvement, the area became drug-free."

New York Knicks player Carmelo Anthony, founder of the Carmelo Anthony Foundation assisted with a November 2015 food drive providing 800 families with food at Word of Life International.

As his congregation grew Pastor John moved Word of Life International to 1299 Louis Nine Boulevard in the South Bronx. One day, as he was driving with church members along Park Avenue he saw a well dressed man looking for something in the garbage can. "I said to my wife, look at this man - he is looking for drugs.”  My wife said, ‘No, that man is hungry.’ “We began to argue, and just to prove my wife wrong, I parked and went up to this man and asked if he was looking for something in that trash can. The man told me that he was hungry and looking for food. I gave him $5 dollars to buy food, and we decided to turn our church into a food pantry." At first Pastor John and his parishioners would donate food from their own homes. Eventually they organized and collected food donations from local restaurants, grocery stores and other food banks. The program currently serves up to 8,000 people each month. Other services offered by Word of Life International include a fitness and nutrition education program as well as a senior wellness program for those 55 and older that meets every Thursday.

 So what is his secret for reaching so many in the community? "It's not the size of your congregation, but how you respond to the needs of the community. Whatever you do for your community eventually will benefit you. The community members we have helped joined our congregation because of the work we did for them and others. Some of them came in as volunteers, fell in love with the work we were doing, and today they are worshiping with us.”

Pastor John continues to strengthen his network of volunteers every day, whether it is from the youth that have put in over 6000 community service hours to the partnership with other Bronx churches, where he mentors four other churches in Bronx Health REACH’s faith based initiative. A few days prior to Thanksgiving he received a call from a former parishioner currently living in Baltimore. The parishioner asked if it was possible for Word of Life International to help out Baltimore residents in need. “I filled a van with food the day before Thanksgiving, and it was delivered to hungry Baltimore residents.” To Pastor John, caring for the needy is not limited to just the Bronx, nor to those inside the church. “The time has come for us to get out of the church, get out to the streets and do something because at the end of the day, the best way to preach the gospel is to lift somebody up.”

Getting to the Root of Healthy Eating

Photograph by Robert Abrams

This post was written by  Cara Plott, a FoodCorps service member serving with Bronx Health REACH. She is partnering with The Family School in the Bronx, NY to integrate garden and nutrition lessons into classes, promote healthy food options in the cafeteria, and support a school wide culture of health. She is very grateful for the opportunity to work with The Family School, where teachers, administration, cafeteria staff, and students appreciate the importance of healthy bodies and healthy minds for learning and growing. 

Crunching sounds and smiles filled the cafeteria at The Family School during our school wide taste test of multicolored carrots, juicy apples and crispy Asian pears grown on farms in New York and Pennsylvania. The program was sponsored by the New York City Department of Education Office of SchoolFood’s Garden to Cafe program.

The students at The Family School are especially appreciative of the work that goes into growing fruits and vegetables because many of them are gardeners themselves. Students ranging in age from kindergarten to 5th grade are currently growing a multitude of crops including radishes, lettuce, kale, and sunflower sprouts in our school garden.

Preparations for the event began early in the morning. Holly and George, the Garden to Cafe team, washed, chopped and arranged the produce. Their beautiful display was lit by the natural sunlight from the tall cafeteria windows, bringing out the deep purple, vibrant orange, and subtle yellow shades of the carrots, apples, and pears.

Of course, no matter how pretty the produce looks, a taste test is only a success if students actually want to eat the food! That is where our student Wellness Ambassadors come to the rescue. Our Wellness Ambassadors were 2nd and 5th grade students nominated by their teachers to help support their peers in making healthy choices.  As a FoodCorps service member, I have had more than a little experience encouraging students to try new foods, and these Wellness Ambassadors were naturals! Donning their Wellness Ambassador pins (designed by a Family School student) and food service gloves, these students encouraged their friends and peers to take a taste of the produce as they passed it out. Questioning why purple carrots are purple? Not sure about whether you are ready to try something that you have never seen before? No problem! As I carried the tray while the Wellness Ambassadors passed them out, the samples flew off the tray so quickly I soon had to go back for a refill.

Now, the question you have been waiting to ask - did the students like the carrots, apples and pears? The answer was a resounding YES! After the taste test, some of the students who tried the produce had the opportunity to vote. The results speak for themselves.

Photograph by Robert Abrams

After tasting the apples, carrots, and pears, students sticker voted on what they liked or did not like yet.

Often, popular culture would have us believe that getting kids to eat fruits and vegetables is some kind of epic battle. However, those of us at The Family School last week experienced something far from this. Yes, some foods take a bit longer to grow on us than others, but through small exposures to new colors, textures, and tastes, kids can develop an excitement and appreciation for the foods that will empower them, not slow them down. Through school wide taste tests like this one we not only work towards normalizing fruits and vegetables, but spark conversations about where our food comes from, how it affects our bodies, and what we choose to do with the energy we derive from it. Rather than feeding into the “kids don’t like vegetables” stereotype, we need to think outside the box, such as empowering students to support each other in making healthy choices. Their health and future depend on it.

Healthy Cooking Demos Prove that Bodegas Can Sell Healthy and Delicious Food

This post was written by Bronx Health REACH staff member Zaira Hernandez-Cinto.

As a South Bronx native I have never associated bodegas with healthy food, and most people I know tend to associate bodegas with unhealthy snacks such as soda, potato chips and candy. To clear up some of the misconceptions that people have had that bodegas only sell unhealthy food, Bronx Health REACH, in partnership with the Bodega Association of the United Stated (ASOBEU), and the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network (HITN) has been holding healthy cooking demos at three of our healthy model bodegas.

Brito Deli, located at 309 Crimmins Avenue, hosted the first food demonstration. Although it was a rainy day, many people took part in the cooking demo. Pamela Di Gregorio, the community chef leading the food demonstrations, came up with a delicious and healthy recipe using items that can be bought at Brito Deli. She created a Southwestern Salad with a Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette, a recipe that featured low sodium canned black beans, tomatoes, red peppers, corn, lettuce and a delicious vinaigrette made from extra virgin olive oil, lime, cilantro and other ingredients. The salad was well received by the customers, and many of those who stopped by to sample it were surprised to learn that the salad was made from ingredients sold at the deli. Some customers remarked that they usually associated the bodega with unhealthy food, but were happy to receive and taste the Southwestern salad. 35 people tried the salad over the hour long demonstration.

Another healthy food demonstration took place at A & M Supermarket Deli, located at 1393 Webster Avenue. Pamela used the same Southwestern salad with a Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette recipe, but this time the food demonstration took place outside of the store to attract the attention of the neighborhood. The reaction from those passing by was very positive. People were excited to try the salad and loved that they were receiving a recipe along with the sample. Many people expressed the need for nutrition education and assistance in creating healthy dishes that are delicious and easy to prepare. The owner and staff of A & M Supermarket Deli also loved the salad and were helpful in getting skeptical customers to try the samples. Some customers who admitted not liking vegetables were pleasantly surprised to discover how much they enjoyed the salad. A total of 55 people tried the salad.

The food demonstration at La Bodeguita de Rosaura at 164 East 174th Street was also a success. 50 customers were surprised that a salad could be so delicious and filling. Customers expressed a need for nutrition education and ideas on how they could make healthy meals. The customers felt that although they knew that they needed to eat healthier, they did not know how to distinguish between healthy or unhealthy foods. The work being done with our healthy model bodegas can bridge that gap by providing nutrition education and recipes so people can make healthy dishes that not only taste delicious, but are nutritious as well.

After the positive responses and feedback from the customers who attended the healthy cooking demos, I believe that local residents can see bodegas as a place to purchase healthy foods. The Healthy Model Bodega Initiative aims to break the misconception that bodegas only sell junk food and will aid them in becoming healthier shopping destinations for the community. Please support our bodegas and look out for our next food demo, by following us on Instagram and Facebook.

Parents from PS 35 Farmer’s Market Tour

This post was written by Bronx Health REACH intern Wilka Diaz.

On a beautiful, warm Tuesday morning in October, Bronx Health REACH conducted a farmers market tour at the Bronx Borough Hall Farmers Market for fourteen parents from Public School 35. The group discussed the health benefits of incorporating vegetables and fruits into their diets. Parents discussed strategies to get children to eat more fruits and vegetables. Ideas suggested included the use of colorful plates and tasting each new food at least three times.

As the tour continued, Bronx Health REACH informed parents that local farmers markets sell seasonal produce and that at the end of the growing season many of the markets close November 17. Parents were also told of the year-round Fresh Food Box at BronxWorks on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. located at 1130 Grand Concourse. Many expressed interest in the fact that it was year round.

The tour included information about Health Bucks, the $2 coupons used to purchase fruits and vegetables at farmers markets around New York City. $10 worth of Health Bucks was distributed to the parents thanks to Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson who had secured $5000 worth of Health Bucks in an effort to encourage her constituents to purchase produce at their local farmers markets. Parents were encouraged to ask farmers about their customers favorite items at the market.

Overall, the tour was an excellent way to let parents know of the many ways their families can eat healthy. Many community members approached the parents and asked about Health Bucks, and how they can join the tour. When asked if they would attend these events in the future, all the PS35 parents responded “Yes!” One parent said she liked the tour because she discovered a nearby farmers market and liked the idea of going as a group. Another parent appreciated the information about the Fresh Food Box, while another parent stated, “I really like the fact that we can have so many fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Bronx Health REACH will be hosting more farmers market tours in November with various schools in the Bronx. Each tour will consist of a brief nutrition education workshop, resource giveaways, and an opportunity for each participant to spend $10 worth of Health Bucks on fresh produce from the market.

NY1 Story on The Bronx Salad

Chef King held a training on how to prepare The Bronx Salad for the restaurants participating in the Healthy Restaurant Initiative.

NY1 covered The Bronx Salad in the piece, "Despite its Reputation, Chef Hopes to Establish the Bronx as a Healthy Place to Eat with a Namesake Salad," and you can view it here.

News12Bronx Covers The Bronx Salad

News12Bronx stopped by the Mott Haven Bar and Grill to cover The Bronx Salad. You can view it here.

The Bronx Salad Media Coverage by DNAinfo and PIX11News

Image: PIX11News

Recently, DNAinfo and PIX11News covered the Bronx Salad. You can view the PIX11News video segment here.

Below is the DNAinfo article:

'Bronx Salad' Aims to Improve Health in the Borough by Eddie Small October 3, 2016

Food in The Bronx normally conjures up images of people chowing down on ballpark snacks at Yankee Stadium or the overstuffed subs on Arthur Avenue, but a group of Bronxites are now trying to make salad an iconic dish for the borough.

The Bronx Salad will consist of mixed greens, red peppers, red onions, olives, tomatoes, corn, black beans, plantain chips, mango and avocado, a recipe conceived by Chef King Phojanakong, who is also the man behind The Bronx Greenmarket Hot Sauce.

The project is a collaboration between Phojanakong, the economic development group SoBRO, the Institute for Family Health and the United Business Cooperative, a group of restaurant owners primarily located in the South Bronx.

It is meant to increase the amount of healthy food options available in the South Bronx, and the plan is to initially serve the dish in local restaurants and eventually offer it throughout the borough in bodegas and schools as well.

"When you think 'Bronx,' you never think 'healthy,' so how could we associate health with The Bronx?'" said Henry Obispo, president of the United Business Cooperative. "...That is when we thought of The Bronx Salad."

The salad's ingredients were chosen to represent the diversity of The Bronx, with items like black beans and plantain chips meant to reflect the borough's large Latino population.

Organizers launched an online fundraising campaign to help finance the project that has amassed $4,472, surpassing its $3,640 goal.

The money is meant to help buy ingredients for the salad and make it cheaper for restaurants to start serving the dish.

"We want to incentivize the restaurants to use it, to put it in their menus," Obispo said. "The idea is that we will subsidize a lot of the ingredients."

Organizers will now focus on sourcing ingredients for the salad and plan to get them from local places, such as SoBRO's roof garden and other community gardens throughout the borough. They hope to be ready to serve the dish in restaurants by the beginning of next year, as it is not ready to debut at eateries yet.

The salad is a response to the extremely poor showing that The Bronx had in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's rankings of New York counties by health. It was in last place out of all 62 counties in both health outcomes and health factors.

Phojanakong said he has always been interested in getting people to eat healthy foods, and that interest has only intensified now that he has two young children of his own.

"Whatever I can do to make people aware of healthy food and making good food and kind of just reaching people through that is something that I’m always interested in," he said.

Rosa Garcia, owner of the Mott Haven Bar and Grill, said she would be open to serving the salad at her restaurant once it is ready, describing the recipe for it as both tasty and nutritious.

"I’m always open to helping anyone trying to come up with any new ideas," she said. "I mean, the salad looks very delicious, and it’s very healthy."

The original article can be found here.

Council Member Ritchie Torres - Civic Empowerment Lies at the Heart of Everything He Does

Bronx Health REACH’s Kelly Moltzen with New York City Council Member Ritchie Torres following the announcement of Torres’ $10,000 allocation towards Health Bucks in 2015.

Bronx Health REACH continues its series on individuals who have made a significant contribution to not only the Institute for Family Health, but to the  Black and Latino communities in the Bronx where they have been strong activists for needed change. A notable member of this group of change agents is New York City Council Member Ritchie Torres, representing the 15th Council District in the Central Bronx that includes the communities of Fordham, Mount Hope, Belmont, East Tremont, West Farms, Van Nest, and Allerton.

Growing up in New York City public housing Council Member Ritchie Torres knows all too well the poor housing conditions faced by residents of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). The mold from his childhood apartment triggered asthma attacks, resulting in many hospital visits. When his mother would call NYCHA staff about the mold, they would just paint it over. The problem would continue. As Chair of the NYC Council Committee on Public Housing, Council Member Torres is making sure public housing residents do not suffer as he did. In April, Senator Bernie Sanders and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, candidates for the Democratic Presidential nomination, were were invited by Council Member Torres to tour public housing to see firsthand the living conditions residents must endure. Senator Sanders accepted the offer and was led on a tour by Council Member Torres to public housing developments in the Central Bronx and Brownsville, Brooklyn. Secretary Clinton toured public housing in East Harlem.

"By inviting Senator Sanders and Secretary Clinton to tour public housing I was sending a simple message: You cannot confront inequality from the ivory tower. By visiting these public housing projects, you see the abysmal conditions residents live in every day. What you see is the impact from federal disinvestment. How could this be, in a city that has an $80 billion budget, a state that has a $140 billion dollar budget, and a country that has a $4 trillion budget? The tour led Secretary Clinton to commit to secure more funding for public housing."

A central issue of concern Council Member Torres hears from his constituents is affordable housing. "Among my constituents there is anxiety and fear over losing their homes and neighborhoods. We have seen neighborhoods that have been gentrified out of existence, affordable housing has been gentrified out of existence, and my constituents, who are living paycheck to paycheck, are fearful that their neighborhood is next. We need more investment from the federal government to solve the affordability crisis here in New York City.”

Council Member Torres also knows that his constituent’s limited income restricts their ability to purchase healthy food. To address this the Council Member pioneered the use of discretionary funding for Health Bucks, worth $2 each, they are used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets. For the past three years the Council Member has allocated funds towards Health Bucks for his district. "There is nothing more important than your health. With the funding for Health Bucks, more people in my district are able to purchase more fruits and vegetables at farmers markets. My hope is that more Council Members will take it up as a priority for their own districts."

The Council Member’s recent legislative efforts have included improving access to mental health services. "If you lack mental wellness, then a whole host of problems can arise. I have struggled with depression in my own life. It's a genuine disease in which you have no control, and can inhibit your ability to live a fully functional life. Knowing this I have introduced legislation requiring the city to create a mental health plan, specifically for LGBT seniors and others in the LGBT community who have been found to have some of the highest rates of depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide.”

With the Bronx being ranked 62 out of 62 counties in New York State by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Rankings & Roadmaps Report, Council Member Torres believes that no single policy will solve the problem. "Since the Bronx has some of the highest rates of obesity and diabetes, I believe improvements in the public health of the Bronx needs to come from several initiatives such as Health Bucks, expanding the number of green markets, encouraging more healthy food options by creating a zoning or financial incentive for super markets and bodegas to offer healthier eating options. The solutions are there. What is lacking is the political will to overcome the health challenges in the Bronx.”


He also contends that change comes when community members take an active role in civic engagement. “Civic empowerment lies at the heart of everything I do. Communities that are civically empowered attract more economic development, and are in a stronger position to hold elected officials accountable for addressing the community’s fundamental needs. My number one goal is to build civic infrastructure in those neighborhoods I represent. That is why I am a strong supporter of participatory budgeting - it is an effective tool for building civic engagement and improvement. It’s a way for people to take ownership of their neighborhood. You have a right to have a voice in how money will be spent in your neighborhood, and you have a right to expect services that address the core needs of your neighborhood.”

Community Engagement and Empowerment Through Visioning Sessions

Parishioners from Calvary Victory Bible Church participating in a Visioning session.

The following post was written by Bronx Health REACH staff member Immaculada Moronta.

Recently, I led two visioning sessions for the Complete the Grand Concourse Initiative, which is an effort to bring life-saving improvements to the entire Grand Concourse with traffic calming measures, protected bike lanes, curb extensions, and dedicated bus lanes. The visioning sessions were held at two Bronx churches, who are partners in the Bronx Health REACH Faith Based coalition.

Visioning sessions are a great way to hear from the community about the concerns and improvements needed. Created by James Rojas, a visioning session involves a group of community members using objects such as small blocks of wood, string, artificial flowers, pipe cleaners etc. to design their ideal neighborhood/community. At both visioning sessions participants were instructed to use the material provided and design their community as they would like it, whether that was making streets safer, improvements to the parks or more places for physical activity in their neighborhood.

The first visioning session involved nine parishioners from Christ the King Church located off the Grand Concourse at Marcy Place. It plays a vital role in providing community support for getting the Complete the Grand Concourse Initiative done working with Bronx Health REACH’s partner, Transportation Alternatives. One participant mentioned that the Grand Concourse needs more lighting since it is quite dangerous to cross the street at night. Others mentioned that the Grand Concourse could use more cameras and give pedestrians more time to cross. One participant would like the Grand Concourse to be more aesthetically appealing such as Park Avenue in Manhattan. Another participant spoke about improving the park by having more benches, swings, trash cans, water fountains, more trees and flowers. Other park improvements participants wanted to see include having a first aid kit available and EMS responders at the park, water fountains for children to play, an area for dogs/pets, and benches in the shade for seniors to sit.

The second visioning session involved fifteen parishioners from Calvary Victory Bible Church including the Pastor of the Church and 8 children. At Calvary Victory Bible Church the first to share was a father and his four year old son, who I designated his special assistant. They had constructed what I thought was a basketball court, but was actually four camera poles that would be in their ideal park. They felt parks in the Bronx needed more lighting, and with increased lighting and surveillance the drug dealers would move elsewhere. The lighting would also help police with investigations. Another participant created a farmers market and a store that offered salads since she felt that did not currently exist in her neighborhood. One participant said that more community centers are needed with a focus on job training so young adults would stay off the streets. Another highlighted public safety, and would like to see more police involvement. Another participant went further by saying that since there are multiple ethnicities in her community, the police need to be trained better so they can be more welcoming to diverse communities.

I did not expect that racial inequality would be such a charged topic during the sessions. When I introduced the workshops I was expecting participants to focus on wider streets or on ways to improve the park, but those were not their immediate needs and wants.

Participants highlighted the violence and other public safety issues they face. Many feel unsafe when they visit their local parks and are afraid to bring their children because they see people smoking and breaking the law and do not want their children exposed to that. Being a Latina living in the Bronx, and, though, aware of the racial inequality that exists, because it is not part of my lived experience, I was caught by surprise that the issue of race was the big elephant in the room in both sessions. Many asked: “Why do we not have access to healthy food? Why is our rent increasing and we are being pushed out of our community? Why is gentrification happening?”

I strongly believe that real change can happen and Bronx Health REACH, along with our partners’ efforts, are addressing this head on. But it is a community effort, and many stakeholders must take action. The Bronx has a bright future, and even though eliminating health disparities is hard work, we should not grow weary in our efforts, but persevere. The #Not62-The Campaign for A Healthy Bronx! brings together Bronx community organizations and residents to eliminate health disparities. After holding these visioning sessions with Christ the King and Victory Bible Church members it is clear that community members must have a seat at the table and be actively involved in the decision making since they know best the problems and can offer solutions.

Bicycle and Soccer Program Comes to Claremont Village

Bronx Lebanon Hospital, a partner with Bronx Health REACH, is creating a bike and soccer program for residents of the Claremont Village community. The goal of the bicycle program is to  provide exercise and, very importantly, to establish bike lanes for the Claremont Village neighborhood connecting Mott Haven, Hunts Point and Claremont, with safe bike routes.

The bicycle program offers, every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. the Claremont in Motion Bike Ride Program  free, learn to ride classes and group rides  open to anyone ten years and older. Held at the Claremont Neighborhood Center, participants are first evaluated on their biking abilities, and if needed, offered riding lessons. Participants also take a road safety course before heading out for a group ride. Group rides have consisted of trips to the Bronx Zoo, the Bronx Botanical Garden, Crotona Park, and Randalls Island. Bike New York assists in the riding lessons and group rides. Another aspect of the bicycle program is working with Recycle a Bicycle to refurbish old bicycles, which will provide participants in the program with an opportunity to learn basic bicycle mechanics.

Street Soccer USA, and Bronx Lebanon Hospital, with support from Bronx Health REACH, is partnering on a  soccer program. On Saturday, September 10th a “Back to School” event was held at CS 55, with soccer training workshops being held for youths aged 5 to 18. The main attraction of the event, the Street Soccer USA Stadium, is where youth participating in the event can play short, 15 minute games during the day. The goal of the soccer program is to establish an after school program at CS 55 starting in October, and eventually build a soccer court within Claremont Village using  an underutilized space on the property.

Assemblyman Victor M. Pichardo - Making Government a Force for Good

Bronx Health REACH continues its series on individuals who have made a significant contribution to not only the Institute for Family Health, but to the African-American, Black and Latino communities in the Bronx where they have been strong activists for needed change. A notable member of this group of change agents is New York Assemblymember Victor M. Pichardo, representing the 86th New York State Assembly District, which includes the University and Morris Heights, Mount Eden, Kingsbridge, Tremont, and Fordham sections of the Bronx.

Assemblyman Victor M. Pichardo became interested in public service following a family tragedy fifteen years ago. The Asemblyman’s cousin, who had been working as a livery cab driver, accidently bumped a motorcycle and the motorcyclist ended up stabbing his cousin to death. The suspect fled to the Dominican Republic. “It seemed like the case to get the guy that killed my cousin had stopped, so Senator Charles Schumer took an interest in the case and flew down to meet the President of the Dominican Republic to request extradition. Unfortunately word got around and the suspect then fled to Belgium. With the assistance of Senator Schumer, Interpol tracked down the suspect and he was later brought back to face justice. From that point on, I understood that government is, and should always be, a force for good.”

Assemblymember Pichardo's start in public service began as an intern for Senator Schumer, and eventually became the Community Outreach Coordinator/Latino Liaison. After taking a position at Mercy College, Pichardo discovered that public service was a better fit, and took a job as the Director of Community Affairs for New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera. In this position he saw the severity of health disparities faced by Bronx residents. “I have heard residents tell me, ‘My daughter is suffering from asthma, and I still have to wait three months to get an appointment,’ while others have confided that they are unable to get affordable cancer screenings and the only time they can get them is when a community health fair has them for free. But now with the Affordable Healthcare Act in place, health care must be provided to communities of all sizes, regardless of geographic and socio economic status, and individuals should receive the same equity of care in a timely matter.”

With the Bronx being ranked 62 out of 62 counties by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, Assemblyman Pichardo would like to turn around the negative stereotypes most people have about the Bronx. “It should not matter which zip code you were born in, you should be given and afforded the same resources and opportunities as anybody else in terms of jobs, housing, and education. Take the recent incidents of police brutality, which I feel has spiked in the last few years. Government has a responsibility to make sure that a young man of color, regardless of the neighborhood he lives in, be it the Bronx, Staten Island, Louisiana, or Minnesota, should be able to safely walk in his community, and not lose his life for an unfathomable reason.”

He adds, “People who feel more job and housing secure tend to be healthier overall, and their health outcomes tend to be better. We need to create sustainable safe communities with residents having gainful employment and affordable/stable housing. When that happens your mind is focused on taking care of your health, and the health of your family. The flipside is that being stressed out on things like a paycheck that won’t pay the rent and buy sufficient food, much less healthy food negatively affects ones health.”

Last April, when Bronx Health REACH held the #Not62 – The Campaign for A Healthy Bronx! Town Hall, the Assemblyman spoke to attendees after having spent an all-night legislative session in Albany to finalize the budget. He shared with the audience what he and the other Assembly members had been fighting for - a $15 minimum wage in New York State. “That $15 minimum wage means there is more money in the community for residents to purchase healthy fruits and vegetables, which means healthier outcomes, and that would be one of the first steps we can take to move from worst to the best, so the Bronx is no longer 62 out of 62.”

Bronx Health REACH District 9 Physical Activity & Education Assessment

This small enclosure at a Bronx public school is considered to be an acceptable space for physical fitness.

Physical activity has been shown to have innumerable benefits. Exercise has been shown to improve student focus on school tasks and raise performance scores. It is also known that physical activity lowers the risk of childhood obesity and other chronic diseases which enables students to develop habits for a healthier adulthood.

Often, due to limited resources (e.g. funding, staffing, time, and physical space) many city schools are not able to meet student physical activity and physical education needs. According to the New York City Comptroller report, “Dropping the Ball: Disparities in Physical Education in New York City Schools,” over 32 percent of NYC schools lack a full-time, certified PE instructor. What’s more, 28 percent of schools lack a designated space for physical fitness.

To better understand student access to physical activity in the Bronx, Bronx Health REACH has been assessing physical activity and physical education in District 9. Each of the thirty-one public elementary schools in the district were surveyed to determine what space each school has for indoor and outdoor physical activity and physical education; and the quantity of PE the students were receiving. Each school principal was contacted by phone, email, and in person to complete the surveys.

The findings, to date, reveal that 75% of the schools surveyed have an indoor gymnasium space, and 17% of the schools surveyed lack a fully functioning playground. Disturbingly, only 8% of the schools are meeting the weekly physical education recommendation of 120 minutes for K through 12 students. The final findings of the assessment will be reported widely to staff, parents and students of District 9, as well as with community members and leaders. Bronx Health REACH will present the findings to the District 9 Community Education Council in September. As part of the report, Bronx Health REACH will propose solutions to improve those spaces with Active Design and broader policy recommendations.

In response to the initial findings of the assessment and to begin addressing the deficiencies, Bronx Health REACH is partnering with Grant Avenue Elementary School on their current Active Design Project to create a more engaging play yard. Grant Avenue Elementary School is a co-located school sharing the space with a middle school and high school. At present the outdoor space is a barren, narrow strip of concrete, and even more disturbing to the students and parents, the school’s play yard faces a fully-functioning playground of the neighboring school. Students and staff at Grant Avenue Elementary School have developed a creative solution to their small space - an imagination playground, which features movable pieces (“big blue blocks”) that allow for more dynamic and creative play compared to the fixed structures of a typical playground. Grant Avenue Elementary School’s imagination playground should be ready for students by this fall.

Senator Gustavo Rivera – Legislating Health Equity for the Bronx

Bronx Health REACH continues its series on individuals who have made a significant contribution to not only the Institute for Family Health, but to the African-American, Black and Latino communities in the Bronx where they have been strong activists for needed change. A notable member of this group of change agents is Senator Gustavo Rivera, a New York state senator representing the 33rd Senate District, covering the Bronx neighborhoods of Kingsbridge Heights, Kingsbridge, Fordham, University Heights, Van Nest, Tremont, East Tremont, and parts of Morrisania and Parkchester.

You would think being a member of the New York State Senate would be enough of a commitment of time and energy, but to also publicly commit to shedding twenty pounds? That type of commitment was made by State Senator Gustavo Rivera. Elected in 2010 to represent Bronx District 33 in the New York State Senate, Senator Rivera was aware of the health disparities many Bronx residents faced in his district. "Dr. Christopher Malone, who had been my long-time policy director was doing research on District 33 in the Bronx, and it became clear that there was enough data, demonstrating that health was an issue impacting Bronx residents, not just in my District, but in the rest of the Bronx as well, and it needed to be addressed," says Senator Rivera.

One of the first steps Senator Rivera took after getting elected was introducing legislation that would impact the overall health outcomes of his constituency. "I asked to be appointed as the ranking member of the New York Senate’s Health Committee since health care issues not only in the Bronx, but across New York State interested me policy wise, and if I wanted to enact legislation, this was an important step for me to take on a leadership role in that Committee."

A recent legislative success he has championed is bill S779, known as the "Happy Meal Bill" that has passed the Senate Health Committee. This bill sets nutritional standards for restaurants distributing incentive items aimed at children. "The idea is simple, you have a ten year old child that wants one of the X Men toys that comes with the meal; that child is not thinking about the Big Mac, large fries, and super-size soda that comes with it, they just want the toy. We felt it was important that certain nutritional requirements in terms of the amount of fat, sugar, and caloric amounts be met when an incentive item is offered with a meal.”

Another bill Senator Rivera has been working to pass is a requirement for all sugar sweetened beverages sold in New York State have a warning label (Senate Bill S 6435 & Assembly Bill 2320-B). Unfortunately when legislation came up for a vote this past May, the bill failed to pass the Agriculture Committee. "It is rare for some pieces of legislation, when introduced, to be passed immediately. In this case, there are people who oppose the idea of labeling what they see as a benign product. Many do not understand that the reason the soda and fast food industry has had success in selling their products is that the salt, fat and sugar content go right to the pleasure centers of our brain - they make us feel good, but excessive consumption of sugar, fat, or salt causes serious negative health outcomes.”

Even though this bill has stalled for the moment, there has been some positive change since many fast food establishments are now under pressure to reconsider their food offerings. "McDonalds is now offering some healthy choices such as fruit and water with children's meals, and when one company starts doing that, all the others offer similar alternatives, creating smaller positive changes."

When Senator Rivera came together with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. in 2011 to form the Bronx CAN (Change Attitudes Now) Health Initiative, Senator Rivera decided to make a public commitment to lose weight. “I wanted to use myself as the model since I live in the same Bronx neighborhood as many of my constituents, and have the same access (or lack thereof) to healthy food options and places to exercise for free or low cost. Would I be able to lose weight and maintain a more healthy lifestyle given the choices in my community?” He lost 30 pounds back in 2011 but has since gained most of the weight back. “When I turned forty last November I had a small health scare which made me realize that the one thing I had not been doing on a regular basis was getting more physical activity, so I am committed to losing fifty pounds for this year by eating smaller portions and exercising on a daily basis.”

When asked what it would take to improve the Bronx ranking as the unhealthiest county in New York State, Senator Rivera replies, “From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Rankings & Roadmaps report there is clear evidence that health disparities are directly connected to socio economic conditions. When you have consistently high unemployment rates, high poverty rates, food deserts, lack of access to fruits and vegetables as we do in the Bronx, all of these things are going to have a direct impact on the health and well-being of its residents. This is generational which means we cannot easily just snap our fingers and wish it away. However I believe with the work of the many community organizations partnering on Bronx CAN and other initiatives, combined with the work of elected officials, the needle can be moved.”

Bronx Health REACH Debuts Vegetable and Fruit Prescription Food Demonstrations

Bronx Health REACH debuted its first cooking demonstrations of the Vegetable and Fruit Prescription program on Tuesday, August 2nd at the Institute for Family Health Center’s Mt. Hope Family Health Center. Tania Lopez, the chef and founder of Coqui the Chef is collaborating with Bronx Health REACH to lead cooking demonstrations of healthy delicious dishes that patients can easily make at home. Tania provides a wealth of knowledge about healthy cooking and has shared her recipes on The Chew, BronxNet’s Open, and What Not to Wear!

For the Mt. Hope cooking demonstration she made a “Fiesta Salad” which is chock full of vegetables such as cucumbers, avocadoes, tomatoes, and bell peppers as well as fruits. Tania demonstrated step-by-step in Spanish and English how easy it was to make the salad. Over thirty patients and Mt. Hope staff tasted the Fiesta Salad and received the recipe and nutrition facts about the vegetables and fruits in the salad. The food demonstration was well received and created a buzz about the Vegetable and Fruit Prescription Program and its benefits! The next food demonstration will be held at the Institute for Family Health’s Stevenson Family Health Center on August 11^th.

Click here for the Fiesta Salad recipe.

Update on the Bronx Health REACH Vegetable and Fruit Prescription Program

A supermarket tour at Key Foods, part of the Vegetable and Fruit Prescription Program.

As of July 2016, one hundred and seventy patients have participated in Bronx Health REACH’s Vegetable and Fruit Prescription program at three Institute for Family Health centers in the Bronx (Mt. Hope, Walton, and Stevenson). Patients that have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or more (considered obese) are given a Vegetable and Fruit Prescription by their doctor. The patient “fills” the prescription by purchasing fruits and vegetables at one of the eleven supermarkets and bodegas participating in the program. Once the patient receives a Vegetable and Fruit Prescription, a Bronx Health REACH Community Health worker provides information about the program and nutrition education.

Patients also get an opportunity to go on tours of supermarkets and bodegas. Conducted in English and Spanish, the tours consist of an aisle by aisle review of healthy vs. unhealthy food, lessons in understanding food labels, and determining which food items provide the best value through unit pricing. At the end of the supermarket tour participants get to purchase $10 worth of healthy food. Three tours are scheduled for August. In addition to these tours, there will also be farmers markets tours. On those tours, patients may redeem their prescriptions for Health Bucks that they can use towards the purchase of fruits and vegetables at the farmers market.

The Building Blocks for the Grant Avenue Elementary School Playground

This post comes to us from Bronx Health REACH public health intern, Diana Litsas.

Active Design is an exciting new approach to renovate spaces that encourages children in school to enjoy the physical, emotional, and social benefits of play and exercise¹. In an effort to increase physical activity, Bronx Health REACH uses Active Design in Schools to engage students and other non-profit organizations in developing a plan for children to be active and play. Each of these projects is unique, adapting to school needs of space and budget.

Bronx Health REACH (BHR) is excited to be working on an Active Design Project to create a more engaging play yard at Grant Avenue Elementary School. Currently the outdoor space is a barren, narrow strip of concrete—a play area that seems especially inadequate as it faces a full-functioning playground which belongs to a neighboring school (the other school is overcrowded as it is, and unable to share facilities with Grant Avenue). Grant Avenue’s planned solution is an Imagination Playground², which features movable pieces (“big blue blocks”) that allow for more dynamic and creative play compared to the fixed structures of a typical playground.

BHR joined a recent visit with Grant Avenue elementary school as they explored the Imagination Playground flagship in Burling Slip. Upon their arrival to the park, the students immediately began playing, despite the unfamiliar set of playground elements. These foam pieces encourage students to move in safe and creative ways, as they are made in a variety of shapes and sizes that give students versatility while they play with them². While some blocks can be carried, others are bigger than some students themselves! The students built large “house” structures, as they referred to them, or use the blocks as a place to sit and socialize. Some students even arranged two rectangular blocks to construct a seesaw! The pieces were made out of a hard foam material is durable enough to withstand outside elements while being soft enough for students to stay safe when they fell on them. Few students used the blocks by themselves; most preferred to collaborate with classmates while building.

It was clear that using the blocks necessitated communication and patience among students, as they had to share and negotiate the use of certain blocks. Teacher Diana Castillo expressed her confidence that the blocks would be well received at Grant Avenue Elementary School based on the limited space they require, and how much the kids enjoyed using them.

¹The Partnership for a Healthier New York City

²Imagination Playground

PS 311 Goes Platinum for Excellence in School Wellness

Left to right: Tima Faison, Benjamin Ferder, and Hannah Joseph are members of the PS 311 (Lucero Elementary School) School Wellness Council. 

This post was written by Victor Gidarisingh, Program Coordinator for the Creating Healthy Schools and Communities program.

PS 311 (Lucero Elementary School), has achieved the pinnacle of school wellness by creating a transformative health environment in their Bronx school. Seeing itself as more than a school, PS 311 recognizes that education institutions can also serve as a model for students and families in healthy eating, access to physical activity, and promoting a healthy lifestyle. For PS 311, the journey to platinum was an actualization of a vision that did not happen overnight. The process was gradual and began when former Physical Education teacher and current Physical Education Instruction Coach at PE Works, Ms. Cristina Muia, laid the foundation in 2014, when they received the gold award, then in 2015 gold plus, and now in 2016, platinum.

How did they achieve this? Newcomer and successor to Ms. Muia, PE Instructor Mr. Benjamin Ferder joined forces with Hannah Joseph, a FoodCorps Service Member and Tima Faison, a paraprofessional at the school. Hannah describes the winning formula this way, “We built from a foundation where everyone was passionate—individual’s passions came together and all members were able to bounce ideas off one another.” According to Mr. Ferder, “As a new teacher in school, I asked a lot of questions—I wanted to know what worked in the past. The continuity from years past inspired me to strive for platinum. While the three core members of Tima, Ben, and Hannah steered Lucero Elementary during the school year through their wellness council, their efforts were reinforced by the contributions of Principal Cuba, Parent Coordinator Ms. Lopez, and the students themselves who served as “wellness ambassadors.” They worked with Chef Kent to serve salad during lunch and model to their peers that lunch could be healthy, nutritious, and delicious. 

Like a team that had been built for a championship, PS 311 made their breakthrough in year 3 and proudly achieved platinum, the highest possible award from The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Excellence in School Wellness Award. PS 311 hopes to maintain their strong healthy school and community environment. Their goal for next year is to increase parent involvement—to make school wellness programs more “parent-friendly” and to inspire more teacher involvement by hosting professional developments for teachers geared at combining physical activity and stress reduction. PS 311, a flagship school in District 9, aims to inspire surrounding schools in the Morrisania neighborhood—to address health disparities and exemplify how schools can be a place of wellness.

Drinking Tap Water From an Outsider’s Lens

Image: NYC Environmental Protection website

This post was written by Bronx Health REACH Intern Sandra Nakandakari Higa.

Growing up in Lima, Peru, my relationship with tap water was different from most people in the United States. I would use it to wash my body and rinse my mouth, but it would always stay on the surface, never letting it get inside my body. Peru is a county where typhoid and cholera can be present in water, and as such, before drinking, water must always be boiled to kill germs.

In Peru, as in many countries in South and Central America, the struggle to access safe drinking water is a complex problem with many layers. First, the source of water is a highly polluted river, with runoffs from mining and industrial activities. Second, treatment plants usually don’t have the technologies and capacities to remove hazards appropriately and their main approach to control bacterial levels is throwing an excessive amount of chlorine. This renders a potable water that fails to meet WHO standards for drinking. Lastly, often the underground water line is not protected and different contaminants leak into the stream. Thus, even if the water leaves treatment plants free of microbes, it can get contaminated on their way to the tap, forcing users to boil the water before consumption.

By contrast, the New York water supply has many layers of protection. First, the areas surrounding the two main sources of water, the Delaware and Catskill watersheds, are regulated to prevent hazards from getting into the source. The stream, pumped by gravity alone, travels via aqueducts to the Kenisco Reservoir, where water quality is constantly monitored and treated with appropriate levels of chlorine. Then, the water reaches the high-tech treatment plant in Westchester, where UV light (a safer and supplementary option for chlorine) is used to kill microbes. Next, right before the water enters the city, it stops at the Hillview Reservoir. There, water is monitored and treated again to disinfect it and the pH is raised to levels that prevent the leaking of harmful metals due to corrosion of the pipes. The water finally feeds the city through a huge network of pipes and around 1000 water-sampling stations throughout the city allow the regular testing for contaminants, including lead.  


After two years in the US, my perception of tap water has completely changed. When I first arrived in 2014, I only drank bottled water or filtered tap water. As immigrants, we take our culture and customs with us, which is an important practice that preserves our history and heritage. However, it is equally important to keep an open mind to change, especially when these changes improve quality of life and health. In New York City, we are fortunate to have access to high quality water all over the five boroughs, from a tap in the Empire State Building to a sink in a South Bronx apartment.  If you struggled coming up with reasons to choose tap water, it is time to reconsider. Making consumption of tap water a habit  should be easy, because the benefits are many for health, the environment and it’s free!


References:

“Water Problems in Latin America”. World Water Council, 22 Mar. 2004. Web. 4 May 2016.

Barlow, M. and Clarke, T. “The struggle for Latin America’s Water”. Global Policy Forum, Jul 2004. Web. 4 May 2016.

Rueb, Emily S. “How New York Gets Its Water”. The New York Times, Mar 2016. Web. 5 May 2016.

Gada Dickerson - Doing All That She Can to Help Improve the Health and Well-being of Bronx Residents

As the Health and Wellness Ministry Chairperson for Thessalonia Worship Center in the Bronx, Gada Dickerson always had an interest in health; not just her health, but improving the health and well-being of others. Her mother and father worked in a hospital, so it seemed natural for Gada to pursue a job as a hospital nurse. She enrolled and graduated from a nursing program, but as fate would have it, her nursing career was not to be. After completing the nursing program a hiring freeze went into effect at New York City public hospitals, which quickly limited her options. As a result, she changed her career focus and, instead, pursued a health services administration degree.

When Gada began attending Bronx Health REACH meetings, she discovered that Bronx Health REACH offered various health programs at Bronx churches. In time, Thessalonia Worship Center joined Bronx Health REACH's Faith Based Outreach Initiative. This Initiative helps faith organizations – of all denominations – raise their congregations awareness of racial and ethnic health disparities; provide health programming around nutrition and fitness, and diabetes prevention and management. The first program launched at Thessalonia Worship Center was Fine, Fit and Fabulous. It was well received by the congregation with 20 church members participating in the program. Gada pointed out that the reason for the success was, “Our late pastor, Dr. Rev. Shellie Sampson, Jr. was a big supporter of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. He viewed obesity as a daily struggle, and allowed us to use the banquet hall whenever we needed it for our Fine, Fit and Fabulous classes. Our current pastor, Reverend Malobe Sampson is also a big supporter."

Following on Fine, Fit and Fabulous, Thessalonia Worship Center implemented the culinary ministry which provided information on selecting, preparing, and serving healthy versions of favorite meals at church events. "Our church provided traditional fare such as macaroni and cheese, fried fish, fried chicken, and collard greens which are not the healthiest options. A Bronx Health REACH nutritionist spoke to the church kitchen staff that had been preparing the meals, and eventually there were changes made that included using less fat and salt, offering fruit and salad at the start of the buffet table, and reducing portion sizes," Gada noted.

As a lifelong South Bronx resident Gada sees many health challenges faced by those living in the community. “When I go grocery shopping and see other shoppers filling their shopping carts with unhealthy items such as frozen pizza and hot pockets, I wonder, where are the fruits and vegetables? If you eat fruits and vegetables as a child, you will continue eating them as an adult. People have to make health a priority in their life.”

For now, Gada is focused on improving the health of her fellow church members. “Our church is always doing a healthy program, and since I am on various email lists, I am able to get Thessalonia Worship Center involved in a variety of health programs. Currently our church is doing blood pressure readings every Sunday for church members.” Whether it be at her church, or a #Not62 – Campaign for A Healthy Bronx! Town Hall event, you can be certain that Gada is doing all that she can to help improve the health and well-being of her fellow Bronx residents.

Testifying in Support of More PE Funding for South Bronx Schools

This post was written by Victor Gidarisingh, Program Coordinator for the Creating Healthy Schools and Communities program.

When New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released his report, “Dropping the Ball: Disparities in Physical Education in New York City Schools,” which points out that many NYC schools have not been meeting the state mandate for physical education, due to a number of challenges such as insufficient numbers of certified physical education instructors, limited training for existing teachers, and space constraints, in effect, he was declaring that physical education, which had not been a priority in New York City public elementary schools now was. Through that report, Comptroller Stringer was speaking for schools in Districts 7, 8, 9, and 12. I had visited these schools through the winter and spring and witnessed that they did indeed lack adequate staffing, space, and resources for physical education.

A few weeks ago I found myself downtown at City Hall, not to have a leisurely stroll on the Brooklyn Bridge, but to represent Bronx Health REACH, a member of the Phys Ed for All Coalition. I was there to provide testimony supporting increased funding for PE in New York City public schools, especially those in the South Bronx. Even though physical education mattered to me, as I was sitting in the Committee Room at City Hall for the first time in my life, I was not certain if that was the case for the other strange and important audience members also assembled to provide testimony. 

After waiting almost four hours to be called, it was my turn to give testimony. As I reached out and gripped the microphone I felt my heart leap to my throat. I felt like a rookie quarterback, called up to play in the fourth quarter preparing for the final drive. But my team was those South Bronx schools in Districts 7, 8, 9, and 12, and I needed to deliver for them. Tucking my chin, I testified that those schools in the South Bronx, specifically those in Districts 7 and 12 had not been beneficiaries of the PE Works program, while District 9 schools with the program had made great strides. As I made this point, I could see Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson nod approvingly as this is her district. I went on to emphasize that physical activity should not be divorced from the academic achievement in students through integrated learning. I assured the Council members that PE would flourish if funding made its way to those districts that needed it the most, like those in the South Bronx. When it does, students attending those Bronx schools will not only improve their health outcomes, but their academic outcomes will also improve.

Dr. Eric Gayle – A Commitment and Passion for Providing Underserved Communities with High Quality Medical Care

Bronx Health REACH continues its series on individuals who have made a significant contribution to not only the Institute for Family Health, but to the African-American, Black and Latino communities in the Bronx where they have been strong activists for needed change. A notable member of this group of change agents is Dr. Eric Gayle, Vice President, Medical Services and Regional Medical Director, in New York City for the Institute for Family Health. Dr. Gayle also mentors minority students who are interested in careers in medicine, and leads the Institute’s credentialing committee.

Growing up in Kingston, Jamaica Dr. Eric Gayle quickly learned that a community lacking robust healthcare means having to wake up at 4:30 in the morning to stand in line for hours to be seen by a doctor. To Dr. Gayle, this did not seem right, and those experiences influenced him to become a doctor. The path to becoming a doctor began following his arrival in New York with his mother after completing high school in Jamaica. Dr. Gayle found having to navigate getting into college and medical school in the United States had its challenges. One was the few financial resources available to him; the other was improving his language skills since his spoken language was his native Jamaican patois. He found that he had to work hard to enhance his own standing in the eyes of others for them to give him access to opportunities. After determining the best avenue for getting into medical school, Dr. Gayle enrolled at the Sophie Davis Biomedical Education/CUNY School of Medicine, beginning his path to a career in medicine.

One class he took opened his eyes to the poor health services many New Yorkers received. Dr. Gayle had to review health services offered to the Harlem community and in doing so he was shocked to learn that Harlem residents received the same poor health services as Dr. Gayle experienced growing up in Jamaica. As a Bronx resident Dr. Gayle also observed that his neighbors in the community were not getting what they needed to become healthy. After completing his B.S. from the Sophie Davis Biomedical Education/CUNY School of Medicine, Dr. Gayle transferred to the Mount Sinai School of Medicine to complete his medical degree. He then did his residency in family medicine at Beth Israel Hospital, and upon completion of his residency in 1998, went to work at one of the Institute for Family Health’s (IFH), clinics in the Bronx.

His current responsibilities relate to the overall operations of the IFH New York City clinical centers. Dr. Gayle is responsible for ensuring that there is enough provider staff at all IFH centers, and that providers meet expectations on the quality of care for patients. "We are here for the patients, to improve their health and to serve the community. My principal responsibility is to give all health centers everything they need to be successful and meet that objective. Even though practicing in underserved communities is not easy, I can impact someone’s health by prescribing medication or offering them advice. It is hard to impact some of the social determinants of their health. Those are outside my control," says Dr. Gayle.

From his days growing up in Jamaica, Dr. Gayle knows what his patients are experiencing when it comes to accessing healthcare in underserved communities. "I know what it means to be in poverty and have social determinants impact your health. When my mother and I arrived in New York we did not have health insurance so I understand what my patients are going through and I have an understanding of what it takes to get them through these challenges," says Dr. Gayle. Addressing the current state of health disparities, Dr. Gayle believes there is more work to be done. "I don’t think we have impacted social determinants of health. I see there is dialogue and research but nothing has been done to improve income equality or housing, as many are still dealing with the same issues that were there 20 years ago. People are struggling to find food. Why does that continue to be a problem? It would take commitment and resources such as money to revamp the whole system," says Dr. Gayle.


A commitment to providing underserved communities with high quality medical care is what has been a guiding passion throughout Dr. Gayle’s career. So what advice would he give to those graduating medical school seeking a similar career but who are graduating with $200,000-$300,000 in student debt? “Though, this may be seen as a significant barrier I tell students not to be discouraged. If you have the passion, and really want to do this work, you can be successful," says Dr. Gayle.

Pastor Robert L. Foley Sr. – From Civil Rights’ Marches of the 60s to Championing the Cause of Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in the Bronx.

Bronx Health REACH continues it’s series of individuals that have made a significant contribution to not only the Institute for Family Health's Bronx Health REACH, but have been strong activists for needed change in the Black and Latino communities in the Bronx. A notable member of this group of change agents is Pastor Robert Lewis Foley, Sr., D. Min, D.D. Pastor of Cosmopolitan Church of the Lord Jesus in the Bronx, New York. Rev. Foley was raised in Georgia, graduated from Morris Brown College in Atlanta, and received a master of divinity degree from the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, and a doctor of ministry degree at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. 

Pastor Robert Lewis Foley, Sr. was born in Marietta, Georgia. His father had been a pastor serving several congregations in Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama and would become an influence on Pastor Foley's decision to enter the Christian ministry in 1956 and a pastor himself in 1962. After becoming a pastor in Atlanta, Georgia, Pastor Foley became involved in the civil rights movement by attending meetings in Atlanta with  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  and Dr. Ralph Abernathy,  participating in events with Julian Bond and Stokely Carmichael, and marching  from Selma to Montgomery. At the time Pastor Foley did not realize that working with and marching alongside these historical civil rights leaders would put him on the path to becoming a community leader and providing a voice for underserved communities. "During the time of my involvement with these civil protests, I had no idea that what we were doing would have the impact on this nation that became the reality. I did it because I thought it was the right thing to do, and now I realize it is part of the reason God sent me to this world," says Pastor Foley.

While attending the ITC Seminary in 1965, he married and continued his pastoral ministry in Atlanta. In 1967, after a meeting with the late Bishop John Bright (the leader of all the New York based AME churches), Pastor Foley was transferred to New York where he continued his pastoral ministry in Tuckahoe, New York and in Harlem. After a few years, he decided to organize and establish an independent church. The first worship service of this new church named Cosmopolitan Church of the Lord Jesus, took place at a Prince Hall Masonic Lodge in Manhattan, and the next several services of worship were held in the auditorium of a public school also in Manhattan.

As fate or more likely providence would have it, a colleague of Pastor Foley spoke to him about a realtor who had placed an advertisement regarding a church building for sale in the Bronx, New York. The owner of the Bronx church invited Pastor Foley and his congregation to hold a service in the space, and soon after accepted an offer to purchase the church. At first Pastor Foley was uncertain if the congregation would be able to pay the mortgage, but soon discovered his congregation wanted to stay permanently. “We never missed a payment on the mortgage and retired that 18 year mortgage in 16 years, even though many of our members at that time were retired senior citizens living on a fixed income,” says Pastor Foley, and he continues to serve this congregation after 38 years.

In 1999 Joyce Davis and Maxine Golub from the Institute for Family Health met with Pastor Foley as the Institute for Family Health was launching a community coalition whose goal was the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities in the South Bronx. A special emphasis of the soon to be formed coalition was to focus attention on the discrimination and health disparities in health services provided by many of New York City’s teaching hospitals. "They gave an overview of how widespread the problem was, and it was an eye-opener for me since I was not aware how large and devastating health disparities were, and seeing how the minority communities were not being properly attended to by the medical community motivated me to join," says Pastor Foley.

Pastor Foley continues to be an active participant in many Bronx Health REACH initiatives. He not only graciously provides his church as a monthly meeting place for the Health Disparities Workgroup, but Cosmopolitan Church of the Lord Jesus has been host to several of Bronx Health REACH’s pastors breakfasts.  The most recent event was the hosting of a meeting of local elected officials and clergy leaders to address the Bronx being ranked 62 out of the 62 New York State counties in health outcomes and health factors in the Robert Wood Johnson’s County Health Ranking Report.

The pulpit is the one place Pastor Foley believes he has the most influence. "Every week I try to say something that speaks to the importance of maintaining your physical and mental well-being. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is an extension of our ministry, and the church must maintain relevancy to the community if we are to serve effectively and meaningfully," says Pastor Foley. Additionally, he serves as a member of the Community Advisory Board of Montefiore Hospital, the Advisory Board of the Bronx Region of the American Cancer Society, the New York Yankees Community Relations Council, and the Police/Clergy Liaison of the NYPD.