Reducing Obesity: Not Simple But Doable

Photo via k lachshand
Eating these is one way to reduce obesity.

James R. Knickman President & CEO at the New York StateHealth Foundation  asked the million dollar question in his Huffington Post piece, “What's Workingto Reduce Obesity?” In his post Mr. Knickman reveals that researchers from Drexel University studied a range of experiments aimed at reducing obesity, assessing how effective those strategies were. Researchers concluded that measures such as improving sidewalks and banning trans fats had strong impact but other approaches such as restaurants posting nutrition information had very little, to no impact.

So what does work to reduce obesity?

Mr. Knickman believes reducing obesity comes down to the following points:

- Better and more research will provide a better sense of the impact of various strategies reducing obesity in communities

- Different populations require different strategies so research can determine which approaches are most effective for high risk populations

- Seek out the economic and social benefits of interventions

- Success happens when communities and neighborhoods make it easy and affordable to be physically active and eat healthy foods, rather than one method such as banning trans fats

- All these healthy components add up to create “a neighborhood value, a point of pride” and becomes a part of the culture.

Mr. Knickman asks, “What is the best bang for your buck?” Here at the Bronx Health REACH Coalition we have launched the Towards A Healthier Bronx initiative using policy, systems and environmental improvements that increase access to healthy food, healthy beverages and opportunities for physical activity for over 75% of 675,215 residents residing in 12 high need South Bronx zip codes. Many public health campaigns rely heavily on clinical evidence, but fail to research the motivating factors relevant to that audience. To avoid this our campaign emphasizes actionable health behaviors.

Led by the Institute for Family Health, Bronx Health REACH was formed in 1999 to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes in diabetes and heart disease in African American and Latino communities in the southwest Bronx. Since then the Bronx Health REACH coalition has grown to include over 70 community-based organizations, 47 faith-based organizations, and health care providers. Bronx Health REACH serves as a national model of community empowerment demonstrating ways to build healthier communities by promoting healthy life-style behaviors.

The plan behind Towards A Healthier Bronx is:

- Increasing the number of bodegas and restaurants involved in incentive programs offering and promoting affordable healthy foods

- Increasing the number of farm stands making healthy food more affordable and available to the community

- Increasing the number of public and charter elementary schools emphasizing nutrition education and supporting related school policies

Partnering with bodega, deli and restaurant owners by providing them with training and education makes these initiatives not only a healthy benefit for their customers, but an economic benefit for the business owner. Encouraging chefs to attend monthly trainings on healthy food preparation results in offering patrons 2 to 3 healthier menu options. As New York City neighborhood demographics change, the restaurants and bodegas can now more easily adapt to the healthy choices their new customers are seeking resulting in those restaurant and bodega owners seeing more customers come into their stores and restaurants and gaining more revenue.

Mr. Knickman also states, “So if menu labeling isn't working for the target population--as the Drexel research and other studies suggest--we need to find and test other ways to make the healthy choice the easy choice.” Euny C. Lee, Evaluator and Policy Analyst at Bronx Health REACH agrees with Mr. Knickman citing a New York University study, “Calorie Labeling Has Barely Any Effecton Teenagers' or Parents' Food Purchases” which revealed that posting calories for food items at fast food restaurants had no impact on what consumer purchased.

Euny has moderated several focus groups with our faith-based coalition members to determine which types of messages encourage healthy behavior such as healthy eating and physical activity. Findings reveal educating the community about daily calorie intake to be important as most were not aware that you should consume no more than 2000 calories a day to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Messaging matters as well. Signs and posters promoting a health benefit rather than a scare tactic elicit more positive behavior changes. Interventions have to be customized to a specific demographic/ethnic group so that it is culturally and linguistically understandable and appropriate. Other results include social support such as having a friend or family member who you are accountable to for your actions to reach the desired health goals.

Focus group members felt this ad was not accurate saying the soda bottle should be bigger and would be more effective if other ailments such as diabetes and heart disease that causes stroke were listed.

Focus group members felt the above ad was actually a real advertisement selling juice boxes and a better message would have been the child drinking from a water bottle.

But the question still remains. “What is doable in the fight to reduce obesity?” Bronx Health REACH can point to a few projects. A city wide campaign was created to serve only low-fat and fat-free milk rather than whole milk at New York City public schools. Bronx Health REACH educated policy makers, Coalition members and residents from the community about obesity and the benefits of reduced fat milk. This led to the New York City Public school system adopting the policy and impacting over 1.1 million children in 1,579 schools as well as a model for public schools in 15 other states.

I don't know if the day will ever arrive where the only thing one needs to do is take a miracle pill that sheds those excess pounds without any physical effort while drinking a large vanilla milkshake every day. What I do know is these healthy initiatives together will begin slowing the overweight/obesity epidemic we now face.

Over 20 Bronx Bodegas Participate in Two Day Healthy Bodega Initiative to Promote Healthier Food and Beverages

Bodega owners attending the Healthy Bodega Training.

Mitch Klein casually walked around the television studio housed discreetly inside Lebron's Restaurant Equipment and Business Machines store awaiting the bodega owners to attend the first ever, Healthy Bodega Training seminar. Mitch would be the trainer for the two day, nine hour sessions that were held on the evenings of Tuesday, August 4 and Wednesday, August 5. Getting to this starting point of the Healthy Bodega Initiative had been many months in the making. Launched by Bronx Health REACH, a program of the Institute for Family Health, in partnership with the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, Inc. (HITN) and The Bodega Association of the United States (ASOBEU), the Healthy Bodega Training is a new and important part of the Healthy Bodega Initiative to address the obesity epidemic plaguing New York City’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.

This in-depth Healthy Bodega training was created to focus on business strategies, food handling and marketing/promotion practices. It is anticipated that the training will lead to an increase in the supply and demand for healthier food and beverages for customers by providing bodega owners with the tools and information to make offering healthy food and drink options a successful business in the high need, low income communities in which they are located. The training focused on best practices for becoming a H.E.R.O. bodega (healthy, educated, responsive, and operational). Topics covered included: the requirements of being a vendor for the SNAP and WIC programs, compliance with alcohol and tobacco vendor licensing, and appropriate responses to dealing with New York City agencies if a bodega receives a fine. The two day training was videotaped and will be accessible online through a password protected link.

Mitch expressed his confidence in the impact of this training. He said, "I have been doing trainings for forty years all across the country, and over the next two evenings I will be talking about how the small bodega can make a difference and compete against the big box stores. We have great success stories after doing similar programs in Miami, Orlando, and Philadelphia, and these bodegas can thrive and grow their business."

Mr. Ramon Murphy, who is not only the President of The Bodega Association of the United States, but has owned his bodega for twenty years noted, "I hope to see those bodega owners attending the training realize that they can have more healthy food offerings for the community. He went on to point out that “a partnership between bodega owners and the community can help to make the Bronx healthier."

While many bodega owners have been willing to participate in efforts to stock healthy food at the behest of healthy food advocates like Bronx Health REACH and others, many owners have not been able to succeed at selling healthy food because they lack the necessary information and tools to market and sell these healthy foods. The training not only provided much of the needed information, but plans are underway to develop and implement education and incentives to make healthy foods affordable and desirable.

The work is funded by a three year REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Institute for Family Health/Bronx Health REACH is a founding member of ‘Not62 – The Campaign for a Healthy Bronx’, a new initiative, responding to the Bronx being ranked 62 out of the 62 counties in New York State by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s County Health Ranking Report since 2009.

Just a few minutes past the scheduled start time the studio was filled with over twenty bodega owners taking their seats and donning headphones since most would need the presentation to be translated into Spanish. Mr. Murphy greeted the bodega owners and thanked them for taking time out of their busy schedule to attend the training. He spoke about how the Healthy Bodega initiative would not only be an economic benefit for their bodegas, but also a healthy benefit for the community. 

Prior to holding the training one of the stated goals Bronx Health REACH, HITN and the Bodega Association had was that the training should be practical and useful for the bodega owners. Following the two day training Julia Mair from HITN expressed how the Bodega Association Board members were excited about the fact that the Healthy Bodega training was useful and meaningful to them and the other bodega owners in attendance.

The feedback from the bodega owners was positive. Some of the bodega owners requested more training and expressed their willingness to participate in more training sessions since the topics discussed could be applied to the day to day work in their bodegas. Attendance for the second evening increased as some of the bodega owners brought in people who also worked in the stores. Those bodega owners felt that the information at the seminar was worth having others from their bodegas attend.

The Healthy Bodega Training seminar is a significant step towards offering the community a better selection of healthy food choices. As more bodega owners attend future Healthy Bodega Training seminars, the changes they make in their bodega will enable them to create sustainable practices that mean good business for them and the health for the community.

Harvest Home Brings Local, Farm-Fresh Produce to Soundview

 Photo by Brian Nobili

                                                               

From left to right: NY State Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo, Harvest Home CEO Marita Owens, and NYC Council member Annabel Palma.

Soundview residents no longer have to travel outside the community for farm-fresh produce as the debut of The Soundview Farmers Market officially opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday, June 20. New York State Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo and New York City Council member Annabel Palma along with many from the Soundview community in attendance. This new market, located at Morrison Avenue between Harrod Place and Westchester Avenue in the Bronx, will serve more than 60,000 residents, including approximately 10,000 SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/food stamp) recipients. The market will offer farm fresh fruits and vegetables from Alstede farms, a New Jersey grower.

To encourage residents to shop at the Soundview Farmers Market, Harvest Home has partnered with the Institute of Family Health through its Bronx Health REACH program to issue Fruit and Vegetable Rx to its patients at the Stevenson Health Center. Located at Morrison Avenue between Westchester Avenue and Harrod Place, the Market is open every Saturday through November 21, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. rain or shine. Bring your SNAP/EBT, WIC Farmer's Market and Senior Farmer Market coupons along with Health Bucks. News12 covered the event.

Having a farmers market in this area has been a long held dream of Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo (D- Bronx, 85th AD). And, he, in conjunction with other New York State and New York City Elected Officials from the Bronx heartily welcome Harvest Home Farmers market to the Soundview community. Assemblyman Crespo noted that, “Healthy eating habits promote overall healthy lifestyles, which is why I am excited about welcoming Harvest Home Farmers Market to Soundview.” He pointed out that “Bringing in an array of healthy and organic produce to our community, in an affordable way, enhances healthier choices for both adults and children.”

Council Member Annabel Palma (D-Bronx, 18th Council District), a big supporter of the market stated, “I am excited to have a new farmers market in the Soundview section of my district; now my community will have better access to healthy food. I firmly believe that, when given the opportunities, New Yorkers want to eat healthy – they simply need to be provided the option.”

Neil S. Calman, MD, President and CEO of The Institute for Family Health stated, “I am thrilled that there is a farmers market opening in Soundview. We, at the Institute for Family Health, are deeply invested in improving the health and well-being of the residents of the Bronx and bringing fresh fruits and vegetables is a major breakthrough.”

Saturday's events included cooking demonstrations and a Bronx based disc jockey playing music. The Soundview Farmers Market can be reached by taking the 6 train to the Morrison Ave-Soundview station or the Bx4, Bx4a, Bx27 buses. Harvest Home Farmers Market will operate every Saturday rain or shine from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through November 21st, 2015. WIC, FMNP Coupons, Senior FMNP Coupons, Health Bucks, SNAP (EBT) and Debit/Credit Cards  will all be accepted.

Connecting Bronx Communities to Local Farmers Markets

August 2nd through 8th marked the 16thannual USDA Farmers Market Week. Farmers Market Week is an official celebration of farmers markets across the country, connecting consumers to local fresh, seasonal, and healthy produce. In the New York tri-state area, August and September is peak harvest time. Regional bounty includes beets, broccoli, fresh herbs, tomatoes, peaches, plums and much more.

This month, with the bounty of farm produce available at local farmers markets Bronx Health REACH will launch a new campaign to promote Bronx-based farmers markets. This campaign, which is part of a city-wide collaboration of the Partnership for a Healthier NYC, seeks to increase access to farmers markets.

The campaign’s intent is to connect Bronx communities to local farmers markets. These markets are an important source for healthy eating, and improved health in general. The local farmers markets serve as hubs to supply and support increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.

There are 29 farmers markets in the Bronx. To learn more, check out the Bronx Farmers’ Markets map. Next year we anticipate that that number will grow to 30, through collaborative efforts led by Harvest Home, Bronx Health REACH and the Melrose Community.

The campaign to promote farmers markets will focus on raising the awareness that farmers markets are accessible to all. As part of the campaign development process, community coalitions from the Bronx reviewed materials to determine their effectiveness in communicating that message of the accessibility of farmers markets.

In offering feedback, residents expressed that farmers markets accessibility pertains to their location as well as offering good value and prices for high quality produce. In New York, farmers’ markets accept a variety of payments including: WIC FMNP coupons, EBT, SNAP, Health Bucks, cash, debit and credit cards.

So, where is your nearest Farmer’s Market? To find out:

• Check the maponline
• Text “sogood” to 877877
• OR, call 311.

Dr. Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, the Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMD) at the NIH at the April Grand Rounds

Photo via NIH website.

This post is written by Emily Oppenheimer, Program Coordinator for the Partnership for a Healthier Bronx.

On Friday, April 8th, Dr. Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, the Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) presented on Health Equity. His presentation, “Reducing Disparities in Health Outcomes: The NIMHD Agenda on Equity,” was the April Grand Rounds feature of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Perez- Stable was invited by Neil Calman, MD, President and CEO of The Institute for Family Health and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine.
Dr. Pérez-Stable shared his optimistic, yet pragmatic views on shifting internal medicine approaches to reduce health disparities. His presentation examined the cultural, environmental, and biological factors and emphasized five ways to reduce health disparity in healthcare settings: (1) expand access, (2) public health consensus, (3) coordinated care, (4) patient-centered care and (5) performance measurement. Primary care works, and access to care makes a difference. He argued that comprehensive systems changes can target health issues and shift disparity.

An important point made by Dr. Pérez-Stable with particular resonance to Bronx Health REACH, given that 90% of the Bronx population is Black and Hispanic, was his statement that even though 40% of the U.S. population qualifies as racial/ethnic minorities, health equity is simply social justice and common sense.

Looking ahead, Dr. Pérez-Stable explained that NIMHD will be looking to collaborate more with the Agency for Healthcare and Quality (AHRQ), diversifying the biomedical workforce, enhancing cultural competence in care, examining structural racism, and focusing research on mental health and epigenetics. Bronx Health REACH is excited to learn that the National Institutes of Health has invigorated efforts and refined its focus on reducing health disparities.

To learn more, visit the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities(NIMD) website.

Stark Health Disparities Between Bedford Stuyvesant and Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights

Photo via Flickr by Eli Duke

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene continues to address health disparities across New York City. Below is an article from Raven Rakia comparing the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn to the Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights neighborhood and the stark health disparities between the two areas.

To read the full Community Health Profile for Bed Stuy click here

To read the full Community Health Profile for Bay Ridge click here

In New York City’s black neighborhoods, poverty, housing issues, and asthma go together

By Raven Rakia on 16 Oct 2015

It’s a tale of two cities. New data from the New York City Department of Health shows the health of New Yorkers can vary drastically by neighborhood and is linked to race, housing issues, and poverty.

Earlier this week, the Department of Health published community public-health profiles that take an in-depth look at each neighborhood in Brooklyn (other boroughs will be coming over the next two months). The profiles detail the poverty rate, access to health care, life expectancy, strokes, asthma, mental illness, and cause of death for each neighborhood’s population. They reveal the stark reality of how health in New York varies along race and income lines.

Living in Brooklyn’s predominantly black neighborhoods comes with an increased rate of asthma hospitalizations. In all but one of Brooklyn’s predominantly black neighborhoods, the number of asthma hospitalizations was higher than the borough and city average for both children and adults. The whiter the neighborhood got, the fewer asthma hospitalizations there were.

The difference is stark: In Bed-Stuy, a neighborhood that is 64 percent black, there were 531 avoidable adult asthma hospitalizations per 100,000 people and 54 child asthma hospitalizations per 10,000 people. In the Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights neighborhood, which is 60 percent white, there were 94 avoidable adult asthma hospitalizations per 100,000 people and nine child asthma hospitalizations per 10,000 people.

The four neighborhoods in Brooklyn with the highest avoidable adult asthma hospitalization rates are all over 83 percent black and Latino, and they also have some of the highest poverty rates in the borough. While showing the connections between race, poverty, and health on a microscopic level, the data also offers a glimpse into some of the reasons why the differences may be so high. In Brooklyn, most of the levels of particulate matter (as a form of air pollution) range from 8 to 9.5 micrograms per cubic meter. When it comes to housing quality, in six neighborhoods, 70 percent or more rented homes have at least one maintenance defect. All six of those neighborhoods are predominantly black and Latino, and four out of the six neighborhoods have high rates of asthma hospitalizations. Poor housing quality could mean the presence of mold or asbestos, which are associated with respiratory illnesses.

The most important thing about all of this data is that it shows a complete picture of how the neighborhood you live in can affect how healthy you are. As NYC’s Health Commissioner Mary Bassett told CBS New York, “The health of a neighborhood doesn’t just rely on the decisions an individual makes, but on the resources that are available to them in that neighborhood.”

New Yorkers, if you want to be healthy, it’s going to be much easier if you’re white and can afford to live in a richer neighborhood. For everyone else: good luck.

Does Soda Need a Warning Label?

Image from Public Health Advocacy website

The harmful effects of cigarettes have been well documented, requiring them to have warning labels on the package. With  recent studies revealing the harmful health effects, should soda also have a warning label? New York State Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz and state Senator Gustavo Rivera believe so and have introduced legislation (Assembly Bill 2320-B& Senate Bill S 6435)  requiring that any sugar sweetened beverages sold in New York State have a warning labels.

The label would state:

SAFETY WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.

The label would be affixed to any carbonated or noncarbonated sweetened nonalcoholic beverage that has seventy-five calories or more per every twelve fluid ounces. Warning labels would not be needed for beverages consisting of one hundred percent natural fruit juice or natural vegetable juice that does not contain caloric sweeteners. A larger sign/poster would be posted in places such as restaurants and any establishment that dispenses sodas.

California lawmakers tried to pass similar legislation (SB203) but the bill died in committee in April 2015. CalBev, the California arm of the American BeverageAssociation, argued against the California bill by stating that soft drinks are not “uniquely responsible for weight gain,” and added that affixing a warning label would not change behaviors or teach people about healthy lifestyles.

But contrary to what CalBev has stated, various studies have confirmed that a warning label for soda is warranted. The California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA) states in a factsheet, “An overwhelming body of scientific research shows that liquid sugar is uniquely harmful because it gets absorbed so quickly, and much faster than solid food. When sugar floods the bloodstream, it overloads the pancreas and causes the liver to store much of the sugar as fat – which leads to fatty liver disease. Both of these conditions contribute directly to diabetes. Research shows that drinking one or two cans of a soda a day increases the risk of developing diabetes by 26 percent.”

Nutrition experts agree that sweetened beverages, such as soft drinks, energy drinks, sweet teas and sports drinks, offer little or no nutritional value, and contain large quantities of added sugars. A 20 ounce bottle of soda contains the equivalent of approximately 17 teaspoons of sugar, whereas the American HeartAssociation recommends consuming no more than five to nine teaspoons of sugar daily.

In New York City the harmful effects of soda consumption are more acute. Providing testimony before the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection on April 13, 2015, Christine Johnson, Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Tobacco Control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene stated, “In New York City, 56% of adults are overweight or obese and over 10% have diagnosed diabetes. Rates are even higher in New York City’s poorest communities, which also bear a greater burden of chronic disease.

Nearly a quarter of adults drink at least one sugary drink per day, and consumption rates are nearly double in New York City’s lowest-income communities compared to the highest-income communities, and over 40% of New York City public high school students report drinking one or more sugary drinks daily. The proportion of New Yorkers regularly consuming sugary drinks has declined in recent years; however, these rates are still too high.”

A studyfunded by the Healthy Eating ResearchProgram of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and conducted by University ofPennsylvania, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the University ofWaterloo asked 2381 parents to select a beverage from a simulated vending machine containing a variety of were sweetened and unsweetened drinks. The study revealed that those drinks with warning labels were three times as effective in making parents less likely to purchase a sweetened beverage. The warning labels also were effective among parents of varying educational backgrounds revealing that not just the most educated parents read the labels, but all parents read and considered the labels.

Assembly Bill 2320-B & Senate Bill S 6435 is important. Having that warning on soda labels means that each time a consumer goes to buy or drink that soda they would know of the danger to their health and hopefully, would put that soda down.  We know, however, that getting these two bills passed will not be easy. It will draw the ire and enormous money and power of the Soda Beverage industry to defeat it. The Bronx Health REACH Coalition knows how critical it is to reduce the overweight and obese epidemic in the Bronx  where 2 in 3 adults are overweight or obese, and where 4 in 10 public school elementary students are either obese or overweight. Efforts of our policy makers to make it easy for residents to make healthy choices is extremely important.

Should warning labels be placed on soda? Join in the conversation below.

El Diario Features Healthy Bodegas

Photo: Gerard Romo/El Diario

Hylonkys LaChapelle, owner of Gerard Minimarket is participating in the Healthy Bodega Initiative.

The January 30, 2016 issue of El Diario featured an article about the Healthy Bodega Initiative, a partnership between Bronx Health REACH, The Bodega Association of the United States (ASOBEU), and the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, Inc. (HITN). The article featured the owner of Gerard Minimarket, a bodega that participated in the August training, and featured conversations with  Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., ASOBEU President Ramon Murphy, and Bronx Health REACH Director Charmaine Ruddock.

Hylonkys LaChapelle, the owner of Gerard Minimarket located at 740 Gerard Avenue, Bronx, New York spoke of making changes to her bodega after attending the August training. She described re-arranging and moving the best looking apples and bananas to more prominent areas of shelf space.  The result is shoppers purchasing more fruits. “Now, two boxes of bananas (approximately 30 pounds of product) is sold in a matter of a day,” said LaChapelle.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. spoke about the #Not62 campaign (the Bronx is ranked as the least healthy of 62 of 62 counties in New York State) and how those healthy bodegas that participated in the August Healthy Bodega Training will now be a “part of the solution offering healthy alternatives to their customers.”

Charmaine Ruddock, Director of Bronx Health REACH provided background on how the training program emphasizes the importance of including healthy alternatives at the deli counter such as low fat cheese and low fat mayonnaise in sandwiches, and water offered rather than soda.

You can read the full article here.

The next two- day Healthy Bodega Training will be held on March 8th and March 9th from 5 to 9:30 p.m. If you know a bodega in your community that would benefit from this training, please contact Zulay at the Bodega Association at (212) 928-0252.

Rev. Dr. J. Albert Bush – A Strong Voice for the Bronx Community and Beyond

Bronx Health REACH  will be featuring 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 as well as elsewhere. A notable member of this group of change agents is the Rev. Dr. J. Albert Bush, Sr. pastor of Walker Memorial Church in the Bronx. Rev. Bush is a 1983 graduate of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina where he earned a Master of Divinity degree, and later earned a Doctor of Ministry Degree from the Drew University Theological Seminary in New Jersey. 2016 marks his 34th Pastoral Anniversary at Walker Memorial Church.

Growing up in South Carolina as the second of nine children, Rev. Dr. J. Albert Bush was the first in his family to graduate from college. Adopting a liberationist approach to theology, Rev. Bush started to see and understand how God could use poor people as an instrument to make change in their community.

Answering the call to serve at Walker Memorial Church in 1982 provided a wake-up call for him. Walker Memorial Church had been at 116th Street in Harlem, and moved to the Bronx prior to his arrival. “The Bronx at the time had no housing, no industry, just burned out buildings and depression all around. Many of the people in the congregation saw my arrival as a ticket back to Harlem,” says Rev. Bush. Believing that his time in the Bronx would only be two years, Rev. Bush found himself asking God, “Why did you send me here? Do I belong here?”

Out of his quest he discovered that Walker Memorial Church did not need to return to Harlem. He could learn to love and care for the people of this community and lead them so that they could take responsibility for the change that needed to come. Looking back Rev. Bush admits that was a painful decision, but is convinced that it was the right one at the time. “God was making plans for me to do something, and when I embraced that concept, I led my congregation to become involved in the renewal and rebuilding of this community,” says Rev. Bush.

That renewal and rebuilding has included the Grand Concourse Academy Charter School. “We purchased the empty lot next door twelve years ago and built Grand Concourse Academy Charter School without any federal, state, or grant money. The school was built with all the financial support coming from members of Walker Memorial Church,” says Rev. Bush.

Rev. Bush has also been a long time member of the Bronx Health REACH Coalition where he provides Walker Memorial Church as the meeting place of the Faith Based Outreach workgroup and the quarterly Coalition meetings. He has seen the damage health disparities has done to the community. “This community unfortunately has some of the highest breast cancer rates, highest heart disease rates, and highest amputation rates from diabetes. The thing that surprised me most was the lack of awareness in the community itself. People did not know they were unhealthy,” says Rev. Bush

He believes that healthcare should be more affordable, and more accessible. “You are talking to a man that was once paying $2,500 a month for health insurance over four years to cover his family. That is crazy! One needs a full time job just to pay for health care and that is senseless. It seems that we are comfortable in America keeping and maintaining an underclass,” says Rev. Bush. Rev. Bush adds, “I have experienced a great deal of what the people I seek to help have experienced. I was born in poverty, raised in poverty, and knows what it is like to not have health insurance. I feel every American should have the same level of healthcare that every Senator and Congressman receive. If we can grant it to them, they can return the favor.”

One thing Rev. Bush would change to make health care more equitable would be the elimination of the two class system where those with insurance can see anyone faster than those without insurance that have limited options. “I know of people that have died in the emergency room that had been waiting up to fourteen hours to be seen by a doctor, but people with same problem that have health insurance, they can be seen by someone lickety-split,” says Rev. Bush.

Rev. Bush still continues his work assisting those that have been displaced by disasters in places such as Mississippi and Georgetown, South Carolina. “I am the lead for our denomination (National Baptist Convention) for the disaster response team to any man-made and natural disasters. I have fifteen men on the ground in Mississippi providing relief to those affected by the tornadoes. I have thirty-seven men in Georgetown, South Carolina who are working in partnership with the American Red Cross, FEMA, and other disaster relief agencies, as well as congregations, to aid and assist the people of South Carolina with emergency supplies, such as food, water, and clothing, helping people rebuild homes damaged by the floods,” says Rev. Bush. Currently Rev. Bush is working with officials in Flint, Michigan trying to resolve the man-made disaster of poisoned water.

And the relief efforts are not limited to the United States. In response to the Ebola crisis in Liberia, Rev. Bush Sent aid project through his missionary organization, So Send I You to Providence Baptist Church in Monrovia. “We have sent food relief to Liberia by shipping two ninety foot containers to Liberia with $90,000 worth of food. We also have a daycare center in South Africa in the poorest section of Soweto, and a food kitchen in Swaziland that feeds seventy-five orphan children that have lost both parents to AIDS. We are also building a church and library in South Africa,” says Rev. Bush.

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.

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.