The New York Academy of Medicine Welcomes Commissioner Farley

New York, New York- Surrounded by giants of the public health and health professions field, The New York Academy of Medicine’s president, Jo Ivey Boufford, M.D. and president of the Public Health Association of New York City’s (PHANYC), Paul Meissner, welcomed the New York City Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene - Thomas Farley, MD, MPH to The New York Academy of Medicine. Dr. Boufford told the audience “We’re lucky to have been able to attract such a committed and serious public health servant to New York City.” She went on to highlight Dr. Farley’s work at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in Louisiana, noted his work in chronic disease prevention, the numerous scientific articles he’d authored, and punctuated her comments by noting his "commitment to the voices of the residents following the nightmare of Hurricane Katrina."

Jo Ivey Boufford, MD, President of NYAM, Kenneth Olden, MD Founding Dean of the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College, Thomas Farley, M.D., M.P.H., Commissioner NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene, Paul Meissner, President of Public Health Association of NYC, Linda Fried, MD, Trustee, Dean of Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University

Dr. Farley thanked the crowded room of well-wishers for their coming to greet him and listened patiently as many voiced long-held concerns about the future of public health and the issues facing New York City residents. He discussed how several behavioral and environmental factors contribute to chronic disease in our nation, and suggested sensible interventions might help curtail our modern epidemics. Additionally, he spoke of the need to prevent chronic medical conditions and change our social and physical environment by suggesting we change the portrayal of unhealthy behaviors in advertising, build safe parks for walking and ensure that grocery stores make healthy food choices more available as part of a blueprint for a healthy nation. Dr. Farley clearly relishes his new role as commissioner of DOHMH, and is proud of its aggressive pursuit of public health that includes a ban on smoking, calorie counts on menus and the development of electronic medical records.

The audience was given even greater insight into the thinking of this new Health Commissioner when he let it be known that he considered Edwin Chadwick, author of the Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain, (credited with identifying the link between environment and disease),

Dr. Farley addresses a member of the audience.

as one of his public health heroes. According to Farley, Chadwick didn’t ascribe to the belief that the poor were responsible for being sick because of unsanitary conditions that existed. And like Chadwick, Farley noted that he “doesn’t ascribe to the idea that persons in poor health are wholly responsible for their bad health.” He went on to say, “Greater attention should be given to changes in the environment.” This point was brought into focus when he noted the decreased mortality rates obtained when changes were made to children’s medicine bottles, e.g. installing safety caps, mandatory seat belt laws, and using media to highlight the consequences of unhealthy behavior, i.e. Marie in the NYC Stop Smoking ads.

Following a healthy round of questions and some hearty applause, Dr. Farley again thanked everyone for their presence and jovially agreed to some pictures. At well over six feet, his presence loomed both figuratively and literally!

Posted on July 23, 2009

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Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10029
212-822-7285
amartin@nyam.org

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