Department of Preventive Medicine

Department Chair: Pascal James Imperato, MD, D.Sc., MPH & TM
(718) 270-1056 Fax: (718) 270-2533

Consultations or appointments
(718) 270-1056

The Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health is responsible for teaching medical biostatistics, epidemiology, health services, medical-legal issues, and international health in the medical school curriculum.
The department primarily functions as a consultative service. All of the physicians in the department are board certified or board eligible.

DIRECTORY OF SERVICES:
Epidemiologic Consultation
Members of the department's faculty are available for epidemiologic consultation in the following areas:
1. Study feasibility
2. Study design and planning
3. Study implementation as co-investigators

Special Treatment and Research Program (STAR)
The Special Treatment and Research (STAR) Program is the umbrella organizational structure for an integrated HIV clinical, psychosocial, educational and research program at SUNY Downstate. The following STAR Program components are under the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. For further information, call Jack DeHovitz, M.D., M.P.H. at (718) 270-1069. Specific program numbers are included as follows:

	Patient Care and Psychosocial Support STAR Health Center - The STAR Health Center provides clinical care and support services for HIV positive individuals. Care includes full gynecological services, patient education, social work/case management, nutritional counseling, medication adherence counseling, substance use counseling, mental health care and dental services. Patients have twenty-four hour telephone access to health center staff for medical consultation and can be seen for emergency evaluations for hospital admission as needed at any time. The health center also provides confidential HIV counseling and testing for adults. STAR Health Center is the ambulatory care site for the University Hospital of Brooklyn's (UHB) Designated AIDS Center, as certified by the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute. It is funded by Ryan White Title III through Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and by University Hospital. For appointments call (718) 270-3745.
	Supportive Counseling Services of SUNY (SCSS) - SCSS provides support groups for individuals infected and affected by HIV both at University Hospital and Kings County Hospital Center. It offers seven weekly long-term HIV support groups in English and Haitian Creole, including six groups for adults with HIV/AIDS and one group for family members. Funding is provided by Ryan White Title I through Medical and Health Research Association of New York City, Inc. For information call(718) 270-2758.

	Community Outreach and Education Adolescent Education Program (AEP) - The mission of AEP is to provide education regarding HIV prevention, teen pregnancy, and substance use through skills building and counseling to youth at risk. The program provides age, language and culturally appropriate education to teens to ensure that adolescents receive adequate knowledge regarding prevention as well as medical and social services. The program's Peer Education Project trains at-risk adolescents to become peer educators utilizing improvisational interactive theater learning tools such as games, short skits, songs/raps, plays and videos about HIV-related issues to facilitate discussions. The teens make presentations at schools, churches, and community programs that service adolescents. The program also provides training to community-based adolescent service providers and facilitates the development of HIV-related services for youth organizations. The program is funded by the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute and private foundations. For information call (718) 270-3992/3203.
	Educating People at Risk (EPAR) - The goal of this project is to identify African American, Latino and other people of color with HIV who are not in care, assess and address their barriers to care with specific interventions and facilitate immediate access to medical care and psychosocial services. Program activities include 1) intensive street outreach; 2) presentations on treatment education at community based organizations; 3) HIV counseling and testing; 4) provision of resources to address specific barriers to care; 5) follow-up and tracking of health care referrals. SUNY Downstate and nine other sites funded in New York City are collaborating with The New York Academy of Medicine's (NYAM) Office of Special Populations which will develop and oversee a quantitative and qualitative outcome evaluation of this project for all sites. This project is funded through a special initiative of the Congressional Black Caucus with Ryan White Title I funding through Medical and Health Research Association of New York City, Inc. HIV counseling and testing is funded through Ryan White Title III. For information call (718) 270-3897.
	Professional Education HIV Clinical Education Initiative - This program provides on-site HIV training for health care providers in Brooklyn. The program's mission is to respond to the HIV-related clinical education needs in community health care clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, drug treatment facilities, etc. Educational programs may be provided through lectures, workshops, case conferences, or satellite videoconferences. Funding for this program is provided by the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute. For information call (718) 270-4752.
	HIV Clinical Scholars Program - This program trains physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners in HIV care, research, and HIV-related public health issues. Scholars who complete this two year fellowship are certified as HIV Specialists by the New York State Department of Health. The STAR Health Center at UHB, the inpatient AIDS unit, the HIV Clinic at KCHC, the pediatric & adolescent (HEAT) clinics at KCHC, and Bedford Stuyvesant Family Health Center serve as the major clinical training sites for the program. Scholars attend a state-sponsored core lecture series and participate in HIV seminars and journal clubs. Funding for the program is received from the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute. For information call (718) 270-4752.
	Prenatal Care Provider Project - This project was developed as part of the New York Coalition for the Prevention of Perinatal HIV Transmission's aim to increase prenatal HIV testing from baseline to 90 percent in New York State hospitals. The project provides education and offers technical assistance to prenatal care providers at targeted obstetrics departments in high HIV seroprevalence areas that have low rates of prenatal HIV counseling and testing. Technical assistance includes 1) a pre-training assessment survey; 2) staff training; 3) train the trainers manual; and 4) a follow-up assessment. Project evaluation includes both process and outcome evaluation components. The project is funded by the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute. For information call (718) 270-4752.
	Central/East European HIV Education Center - The overall goal of this Center is to train a cadre of health care practitioners from Central and Eastern Europe on the elements of preventing and treating HIV disease. Health care fellowships in the U.S. provide broad based exposure to clinical and psychosocial issues; fellows have received clinical training in SUNY's STAR Health Center, HIV Inpatient Unit and in the High Risk Obstetrical Clinic. The program also offers an opportunity for individuals with advanced degrees to receive post doctoral training in epidemiology and biomedical sciences at SUNY Albany School of Public Health. Funding is provided by the Fogarty International Center. For information call (718) 270-1069.
	Research HIV Adult Clinical Trials - The STAR Health Center is currently conducting a number of clinical trials. These include a study of the effect of a weekly dosing regime of procrit (epoetin alfa) on the quality of life in the treatment of anemia in HIV infected patients on antiretroviral therapy, an open-label pilot study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Indinavir twice a day in combination with Ritonavir/d4T/3TC, and an open-label study to determine the efficacy and safety of Serostim in HIV patients with unintentional weight loss or body cell mass depletion on combination antiretroviral therapy with or without protease inhibitors. These trials are funded by Ortho Biotech, Merck and Company, and Serano. For information call (718) 270-4487.