Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I hope you have all enjoyed a holiday season filled with hope, happiness, and good health.
During the past year, I was thrilled by the opportunity to have met and worked with so many of you, and I look forward to a productive 2024 building health equity together. We know there will be new challenges ahead, and we need to prepare and, most importantly, to be resilient.
In the aftermath of COVID-19, our healthcare and public health systems have confronted unprecedented and co-occurring challenges. Like the rest of the nation, New York’s workforce lost health workers to burnout, with communities at risk of new threats. Canadian wildfires in June 2023 spread pollutants that doubled NYC asthma emergency visits. Record flooding in late September impacted the public and hospital systems.
Our systems are reeling from workforce shortages, financial stresses, and a climate crisis impact that will only increase.
The time is now to reimagine health and reorient healthcare to better support systems, workers, and communities. Working together to build more resilient systems that can recover from disasters and prepare us for new stressors will be key in creating a healthier and more equitable future for all. We firmly believe New Yorkers can lead the way.
2024: A YEAR FOR RESILIENCE
At NYAM, building more resilient public health and healthcare will be a priority in 2024 and beyond. As a starting point for the development of a multiyear model resilience program for hospitals and public health systems, this year NYAM will bring together executive leadership in healthcare, public health, and payer systems with policymakers to address these issues. This full-day symposium, Designing Health System Resilience, will be the first step toward supporting more sustainable health systems designed to withstand existing and future challenges.
This initial program planning day will feature outstanding health industry leaders including: Jonathan B. Perlin, President & CEO of The Joint Commission; Liz Grant, Director of the Global Health Academy, University of Edinburgh; Rohit T. “Rit” Aggarwala, New York City’s Chief Climate Officer; Peggy Shepard, Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice; and Jodi Sherman, Medical Director of Sustainability, Yale New Haven Health.
Together we will explore Best Practices for Health System Adaptation to highlight effective strategies. We will also focus on Empowering Next-Generation Changemakers, highlighting how emerging leaders can drive transformative change in the health sector. We’ll examine the key role of Community Advocacy in shaping equitable health policies. Lastly, we will dive into the critical aspect of Resilience Data and Tracking, discussing the importance of accurate data collection and analysis in monitoring and enhancing the resilience of health systems.
This is just the beginning for this critical work as we collaboratively build a community of practice, engaging resilience champions at the major hospital systems, along with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Together, we will lay the groundwork for a Program for Health System Resilience that can serve as a model.
NYAM’S UNIQUE CAPACITY OF INNOVATING FOR CHANGE
As one of the leading public health institutions in New York and the nation, NYAM has an extensive history of serving as a neutral partner for landmark issues that have had a significant impact on the population health landscape, bringing together cross-sectoral stakeholders for mutually beneficial solutions.
One example of this is NYAM’s legacy of work on maternal mortality, with the landmark 1933 study “Maternal Mortality in New York City”; the 2018 New York Maternal Mortality Summit; and the 2021 Maternal and Child Health Equity Summit. These convenings brought together various leaders representing different interests, turning thought into action by producing policy and practice recommendations to improve health equity.
The Program on Health Resilience will extend this tradition to the newest—and arguably the direst threat—the impact of climate change and its repercussions on health equity.
We welcome you to join us in this effort as partners, funders, and, most importantly, in your capacity as trusted leaders to drive action in the coming years.
Our sleeves are rolled up at NYAM for a productive and resilient 2024.
Be well,
Ann Kurth, PhD, CNM, MPH
President
View our COVID-19 Safety Protocols for attending NYAM public events.