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Keeping the Bronx Healthy
Lehman College has a vested interest in research initiatives that
will better the lives of the residents of the Bronx. This commitment
is part of the historical mission of Lehman to uplift the community
to which it belongs. One of the College’s most impactful programs
toward improving its borough is the CUNY Institute for Health
Equity (CIHE).
Opened in 2009, CIHE’s guiding philosophy is that a long-standing
connection exists between social determinants of health and
subsequent rates of illness and death. To that end, the Institute
seeks to narrow the current gaps in the health status of New York
City’s underserved ethnic/racial populations by identifying the
social determinants of health that contribute to high mortality rates;
providing support to community health partners; and conducting
research which can be beneficial to the public. Marilyn AguirreMolina, a professor of public health at Lehman and an expert on
Latino health who has co-edited several books on the subject,
founded the Institute “to address health equity throughout New
York City in a multidisciplinary way.”
Marilyn Aguirre-Molina
One of Aguirre-Molina newest initiatives is having CIHE join as
a lead organization in the collaborative project Not62! In response
to a recent report which considers population health and
non-health related factors like education, employment, income,
and the environment to determine individual health and mortality
rates, the Bronx was ranked number 62 of 62 NY state
counties. Multi-outreach project Not62! was formed to bring
together powerful partners, including the Bronx Borough
President’s office, to improve the health of the borough’s residents
and increase the Bronx’s ranking both statewide and nationally.
The College’s Nursing department, which began more than four
decades ago, is committed to training a diverse pool of graduates,
many of whom go on to work in NYC hospitals. While at the
College, students benefit from a program which was the first
at CUNY to offer a degree that would prepare nurses with
physical assessment skills on the undergraduate level. In addition,
its professors, including Professor Martha Whetsell, are committed
to a visionary approach, that will help to save communities.
Armed with a wealth of dedicated professors, academic resources,
and an unwavering mission to improving the public health of its
borough’s residents, Lehman is continuing to push forward to
eradicate the health inequalities that plague the Bronx.
Lehman Today/Spring 2015
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