The Commissioner

Letter to New Yorkers from Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH

New York City is the greatest city in the world - and one of the healthiest. New York City's Health Department has, throughout its history, paid special attention to improving the health of the City's most vulnerable residents.

From the late 1800s, when the Department developed sanitation programs to improve living conditions in tenement neighborhoods, to the early 1900s, when public health physicians were dispatched door-to-door in poor areas of the City, to the 1990s, when new programs were developed to fight tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, the Health Department has recognized that social and economic factors are inextricably linked to health.

While we have made great progress in improving health, we can do better. We now know more about the health of New Yorkers, and about how to improve it, than ever before. This is why we launched Take Care New York, the first ever health policy for NYC. Take Care New York promotes 10 steps people can take now to live longer, healthier lives (see the brochure for more information).

Have a regular doctor or other health care provider. People without insurance can get primary care at Health and Hospitals Corporation facilities and community health clinics.

Be tobacco-free. Fewer New Yorkers are smoking today than at any time in at least 50 years. For free help quitting, call our Smokers' Quitline at 311.

Keep your heart healthy. Moderate to vigorous physical activity most days of the week and a better diet can prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and many other diseases. Medications can control blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes.

Know your HIV status. Anyone who has ever been sexually active should get tested for HIV. Knowing your HIV status, practicing safer sex (including always using a condom), and getting treatment if HIV-positive can stop the epidemic.

Get help for depression. Most people with depression can be helped with counseling and/or medications. Talk to a doctor or mental health professional for help.

Live free of dependence on alcohol and drugs. Alcohol and drug abuse can be treated. Recovery is possible.

Get checked for cancer. Colonoscopy, mammograms, and Pap smears save lives.

Get the immunizations you need. Everyone over 50 and anyone with a chronic health condition should get a flu shot every year.

Make your home safe and healthy. Domestic violence is a crime; help is available. Call the Domestic Violence Hotline at 212-621-HOPE (212-621-4673) or 311. All homes with young children are required to be free of lead paint hazards; call 311 for information on keeping your home lead-safe.

Have a healthy baby. Planning pregnancy helps ensure a healthy mother and a healthy baby.

If each of us took just some of these steps, we could prevent thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of illnesses and disabilities each year. With your active involvement, we will make New York City even healthier.