|
Parallel efforts of the Center are the Metropolitan New York Ethics Network, and the Metropolitan New York Palliative Care Network. The Metropolitan New York Ethics Network, founded in 1992, is a membership organization of professionals interested in bioethics. It provides education and opportunities for dialogue regarding ethical dilemmas, including those in the clinical setting, and aims to achieve more ethically informed decision-making. Yearly membership in Network offers access to presentations by renowned speakers and commentators from the fields of medicine, ethics, education, law, government and business. Annual membership rates are $50.00 for Professionals, $35.00 for Non-Professionals, and $25.00 for Students and Residents. The Metropolitan New York Palliative Care Network is dedicated to enhancing professional and public understanding of palliative care through educational programs, forums and discussions among network participants regarding cutting-edge issues in palliative care. The Network sponsors several public programs a year, each focusing on a specific area of palliative and end-of-life care. Exploration of these areas extends beyond clinical care into economic, social, cultural and spiritual issues. Programs are announced periodically by mail and email.
The Center for Urban Bioethics is viewed as an extension of the 150-year commitment of the Academy to enhancing the health of the public through education of clinicians, basic and applied research, and policy development and advocacy. The Academy's recent focus has been on "urban health," the study of the multiple factors which impact on the quality of life and health of those people who dwell in cities, with a particular emphasis on the problems of inner city, socially marginalized and vulnerable populations.
Urban Bioethics as a field seeks to apply bioethical analysis to a cluster of problems that arise in the urban setting, and to create a new conceptualization of bioethics, with more emphasis on context, social reality and the contributions of diverse disciplines. The urban environment is characterized by a density and diversity of population with an amalgam of cultures, races, ethnic communities and religions. Urban settings magnify disturbing concerns regarding health status and access to health care services for the most vulnerable, underserved and disenfranchised. Our goal is to shift significantly the focus of bioethical analysis to the full range of the determinants of health status, including access to health care and the social and cultural aspects of health. In addition, we want to increase substantially the attention that health professionals give to the contextual aspects of health care decision-making related to the impact of family, community, religion and culture on individual choice.