New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) today announced a $44 million investment to provide every New York City health care practitioner with free introductory training in nutrition and lifestyle medicine.
The investment will train practitioners in lifestyle medicine, which has six tenets including a healthy, plant-forward diet; exercise; quality sleep; stress management; avoiding risky substances and maintaining positive social connections.
According to a press release, the move enables practitioners to integrate evidence-based content into their clinical practice to treat certain health conditions. The initial phase will include practitioners at 20 hospitals and health systems that serve millions of New Yorkers. The $44 million investment from ACLM will cover training for up to 200,000 doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, dietitians, and other health care professionals in New York City and is the largest lifestyle medicine training rollout in the world.
“A plant-based diet restored my eyesight, put my Type 2 diabetes into remission, and helped save my life,” said Mayor Adams. “Our administration has invested in expanding lifestyle medicine programming and plant-based meals at NYC Health + Hospitals, and now, we’re bringing this evidence-based model to all of New York City’s health care workforce. Thanks to a massive $44 million investment from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, foundational trainings will be available for free to 200,000 health care workers in New York City.”
Adams continues: “Once again, we’re setting the standard for the rest of the nation, giving practitioners new tools to combat chronic disease and health disparities, and investing in a healthier city for generations to come.”
“ACLM is proud to make this investment in expanding the knowledge of health professionals in New York City and ultimately in better health for its citizens,” said Cate Collings, MD, FACC, MS, DipABLM, past president, ACLM. “New York City is truly blazing the trail nationally for public-private partnerships to enhance population health. Treating the root cause of chronic disease in this country, and especially lifestyle-related chronic disease health disparities, will positively change the trajectory of both quality of life and health costs. We applaud Mayor Adams and all the health care leaders in the city for recognizing what an impact they can make through this initiative.”
Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses evidence-based, therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and Type 2 diabetes”, states the press release. Clinicians certified in lifestyle medicine are trained to apply evidence-based, prescriptive lifestyle change to treat and, in some cases, achieve remission of certain common chronic conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine — a healthful plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connections — also provides effective prevention for many common chronic conditions.
The initial group of participating hospitals and hospital systems includes:
- NYC Health + Hospitals
- BronxCare Health System
- The Brooklyn Hospital Center
- Calvary Hospital
- Episcopal Health Services
- Hospital for Special Surgery
- Maimonides Health
- MediSys Health
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Montefiore Health System
- Mount Sinai Health System
- NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System
- Northwell Health
- NYU Langone Health
- One Brooklyn Health System
- Richmond University Medical Center
- The Rockefeller University Hospital
- SBH Health System
- SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University – University Hospital at Downstate
- Wyckoff Heights Medical Center
