NYC Health + Hospitals’ Lifestyle Medicine Program Held Over 10,000 Group Visits and Served More Than 1,300 Patients within the Past Year

NYC Health + Hospitals’ Lifestyle Medicine Program Held Over 10,000 Group Visits and Served More Than 1,300 Patients within the Past Year

The group visits embody weekly lessons on subjects similar to making a nutritious plant-powered plate, studying diet labels, aware consuming, stress administration, sleep well being, and health fundamentals

Since February 2024, the Lifestyle Medicine Program has distributed over 5,000 bins of contemporary produce to sufferers’ properties by way of a partnership with Farm to People

Sep 17, 2025

NYC Health + Hospitals as we speak introduced its Lifestyle Medicine Program has offered over 10,000 group visits and served greater than 1,300 sufferers up to now 12 months. Patients in this system take part in weekly group lessons, the place they study expertise for making a nutritious plant-powered plate, studying diet labels, aware consuming, stress administration, sleep well being, and health fundamentals, they usually have particular person time to test in with a nurse practitioner. The group facilitators encourage participation, and sufferers report that they study from and develop a rapport with their classmates over the course of this system. Lifestyle Medicine Program sufferers are additionally provided weekly train lessons led by a health teacher. Most of the lessons are held by way of video visits, so sufferers can attend with out touring to the hospital or clinic, and they’re provided both through the day or within the night to accommodate sufferers’ busy lives. The lessons are provided in English and Spanish.

In addition, the Lifestyle Medicine Program has distributed over 5,000 bins of free, contemporary produce to its sufferers because the launch of the produce field program in February 2024. As a part of this system, sufferers obtain free produce bins delivered to their residence, with scrumptious and nutritious recipes tailored by the Lifestyle Medicine Program’s dietitians. A latest produce field included tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce, potatoes, watermelon radishes, cremini mushrooms, and a mango. The majority of the produce is sourced from native or regional farms, and the bins are packaged and delivered by Farm to People. In a new video, affected person Delois Locus described how the produce bins assist her eat wholesome. Photos of a latest supply of produce bins can be found here.

Out of the sufferers who enrolled within the Lifestyle Medicine Program up to now 12 months, half are Hispanic/Latinx (50%), intently adopted by sufferers who’re Black (40%), and the remaining sufferers establish as different (5%), Asian/Native American/Pacific Islander (2%), white (2%), or not disclosed (1%). Most of those sufferers don’t have medical health insurance (32%), adopted by sufferers who’ve Medicaid (23%), industrial insurance coverage (21%), Medicare (11%), and insurance coverage not listed (15%).  

“As I often say, it’s not only what’s in your DNA, it’s what’s in your dinner. That’s why our administration has been laser focused on ensuring New Yorkers have access to the education and resources they need to ensure they have a healthy diet, access to fresh foods, and can live a healthy lifestyle,” stated New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “I commend NYC Health + Hospitals for their Lifestyle Medicine Program, which has held over 10,000 group visits and served more than 1,300 patients in just the past year alone, while distributing over 5,000 boxes of fresh produce to patients. We will always ensure that New Yorkers are safe and healthy, and can afford what they need to thrive.”

“Today’s announcement is another marker of New York City leading the nation in the practice of Lifestyle Medicine,” stated Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Suzanne Miles-Gustave. “More and more New Yorkers are getting exposed to and moving through a program that has the power to not just manage their heart-disease or type 2 diabetes, but potentially bring those conditions into remission. Importantly, participants in the program aren’t going through it alone, they build relationships with fellow participants strengthening their social networks and success rates. Thank you to the dedicated and innovative team at our NYC Health + Hospitals sites doing this work that makes such a difference in people’s lives and in the discipline of Lifestyle Medicine.”

“The Lifestyle Medicine Program helps make dietary changes as easy as possible for patients to build a strong foundation for their health,” stated Mayor’s Office of Food Policy Executive Director Kate MacKenzie. “Fresh, seasonal produce delivered to New Yorkers helps overcome barriers to healthy food access. Alongside dietitians’ guidance, delicious recipes, and cooking videos, these boxes support healthy cooking and eating across diverse cultural traditions. When we can help people change their diets, we can help them change their futures.”

“Our milestone of over 10,000 group visits positions us among the largest lifestyle medicine programs in the nation. We’re especially proud to be doing this work within the safety-net healthcare system of NYC Health + Hospitals, making our services accessible regardless of ability to pay,” stated NYC Health + Hospitals Executive Director of Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine Michelle McMacken, MD, FACP, DipABLM. “Our interdisciplinary teams not only support patients in making evidence-based lifestyle changes, but also help address key barriers such as food insecurity to improve health for individuals living with chronic disease.”

“We’ve delivered thousands of boxes filled with fresh seasonal produce through this impactful program,” stated Felix Dechant, Chief Operating Officer of Farm to People. “Each delivery is more than just a food box: it’s thoughtfully sourced by our procurement team, packed with care in our warehouse, and delivered the same day by our fleet of drivers. We’re thrilled to see the positive impact on patients’ lives. We look forward to continuing to serve more New Yorkers while building a shorter, stronger, and more resilient food supply chain.” 

“My produce box is like someone plucked it from the garden,” stated Lifestyle Medicine Program affected person Delois Locus. “I have type 2 diabetes. Being able to apply the everything that I’ve learned through the Lifestyle Medicine Program has changed my numbers and changed my perspective.”

The Lifestyle Medicine Program at NYC Health + Hospitals is a several-month program to assist sufferers in making evidence-based life-style modifications, together with a healthful plant-based weight loss program, elevated bodily exercise, improved sleep habits, stress administration, avoidance of substance use, and stronger social connections. Adults residing with prediabetes, kind 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart illness, or well being issues associated to extra weight are eligible to enroll. The program is offered at seven websites and may serve 1000’s of sufferers every year. The care staff contains physicians, nurse practitioners, an authorized nurse midwife (Woodhull location), registered dietitians, well being coaches, program coordinators, group well being staff, and a health teacher, and among the websites additionally supply a psychologist. Current sufferers of NYC Health + Hospitals can get a referral to this system from their supplier, and people who find themselves not but sufferers of NYC Health + Hospitals can see in the event that they qualify to enroll in this system by contacting 347-507-3695.

The several-month life-style drugs program gives each affected person with the next assets:

• Six to 9 one-on-one counseling periods: Patients have two to 3 visits every with a doctor, nurse practitioner, or licensed nurse midwife, a dietitian, and a well being coach to develop and implement a customized care plan.
• Weekly group lessons: Topics embody making a nutritious plant-powered plate, studying diet labels, aware consuming, stress administration, sleep well being, and health fundamentals. Patients even have particular person time to test in with a nurse practitioner.
• Weekly train lessons: Patients can be part of train lessons led by a health teacher and obtain resistance bands to make use of for energy coaching within the lessons.
• Free deliveries of seasonal contemporary produce: Patients work with dietitians to find out about incorporating vegetables and fruit into their weight loss program throughout culinary traditions and talent ranges. Delicious and nutritious recipes tailored by the staff’s dietitians will accompany every produce field.
• Health Bucks. Patients have entry to Health Bucks, that are $2 coupons that can be utilized to buy contemporary vegetables and fruit at NYC farmers markets. Four of the seven program websites have farmers’ markets on their campus.
• Culinary expertise movies. Patients will study cooking expertise by way of quick movies developed by the Lifestyle Medicine staff in partnership with a web based culinary faculty, Rouxbe. The movies will characteristic wholesome cooking throughout varied culinary traditions, together with Caribbean, South American, Central American, and South Asian, and shall be translated into Spanish, Mandarin, Bengali, and Haitian Creole.
• A plant-based cookbook: Each affected person receives a cookbook on plant-based consuming for total well being or particularly for kind 2 diabetes.
• Support accessing advantages: Community well being staff assist sufferers entry free or low-cost diet assets and, for these eligible, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program advantages. They additionally assist tackle different wants similar to transportation and housing issues.

The Lifestyle Medicine Program is offered on the following websites:

Bronx

Brooklyn

Manhattan

Queens

Staten Island

Particular consideration has been positioned on making certain that this system’s group go to curriculum is related for sufferers from numerous backgrounds and experiences. For instance, the Spanish-language curriculum displays cultural variations, not merely a translation of the English-language model. Moreover, particular person visits with the medical suppliers, dietitian, and well being coach enable for tailor-made habits change suggestions primarily based on every affected person’s social, monetary, cultural, and household context.

Formal evaluations of the Bellevue Hospital pilot program revealed a successful implementation process, extraordinarily excessive demand for companies (greater than 850 sufferers requested to enroll within the first few months), and positive health outcomes together with clinically and statistically important enhancements in weight, glycemic control, and diastolic blood pressure.

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About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the most important municipal well being care system within the nation serving greater than 1,000,000 New Yorkers yearly in additional than 70 affected person care areas throughout town’s 5 boroughs. A strong community of outpatient, neighborhood-based major and specialty care facilities anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma facilities, nursing properties, post-acute care facilities, residence care company, and MetroPlus well being plan—all supported by 11 important hospitals. Its numerous workforce of greater than 46,000 workers is uniquely targeted on empowering New Yorkers, with out exception, to dwell the healthiest life doable. For extra data, go to www.nychealthandhospitals.org and keep linked on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About Farm to People
Farm to People is a web based farmer’s market delivering in NYC. They make it straightforward for busy New Yorkers to eat properly at residence by curating farm shares and a market with the most effective seasonal, native produce, sustainable meat and fish, and scrumptious grocery staples. Farm to People delivers to greater than 5,000 clients in all 5 boroughs of NYC and elements of New Jersey. 70% of their items are sourced inside a 300-mile radius of NYC. Every single product on the positioning presents full transparency: they characteristic detailed descriptions of the farmers behind the meals, outlining their location, rising practices, and different data to make knowledgeable decisions with each buy. For extra data, go to www.farmtopeople.com.