Academy Applauds New Initiative to Improve Health and Well-being for New Yorkers Statewide

NEW YORK, Jan. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a visionary effort to "make New York the healthiest state in the nation," Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced in his 2017 State of the State plans, that each state agency will now use a "Health Across All Policies" approach to ensure that their work has a positive impact on health, whenever possible.

As an organization that has spent the last 10 years advocating for policies across sectors that advance population health—from housing to transportation and beyond—the Academy praises the Governor's groundbreaking act, as well as his focus on using this approach initially to address the needs of older New Yorkers.

"We are thrilled with the Governor's new "Health Across All Policies" approach, especially since it will be applied to achieving the goal of creating healthy communities that the Academy has worked toward for a decade. As a World Health Organization collaborating center on aging, and as the Secretariat of Age-friendly New York City, we are especially pleased with the initial focus on considering the potential for these actions by multiple agencies to promote healthy and active aging," said Jo Ivey Boufford, MD, President of the Academy.

According to his State of the State, "'A Health Across All Policies' approach identifies the ways in which decisions in multiple sectors can improve health and wellness while simultaneously advancing other goals, such as promoting job creation and economic stability, transportation mobility and environmental sustainability."

"The Governor's support for a statewide, multiagency approach  can further strengthen the community coalitions across the state led by hospitals and local health departments, as part of the NYS Prevention Agenda," Boufford said. "As Vice Chair of the NYS Public Health and Public Health Planning Council and Chair of the Ad Hoc Leadership Committee of the Council, my colleagues and I look forward to working with Commissioner Howard Zucker, MD, JD,  and his excellent team and  colleagues from those agencies  identified by the Governor, to advance this new initiative and to achieve the Prevention Agenda goal to make New York the healthiest state."

About the Academy
The New York Academy of Medicine advances solutions that promote the health and well-being of people in cities worldwide.

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SOURCE New York Academy of Medicine