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University Hospital at Downstate Promotes Message of Healing and Cultural Diversity During National Hospital Week:

Apr 21, 2008

Holds Annual Cultural Health Fair May 17

 

Brooklyn, NY - Hospitals are compassionate places that provide culturally diverse health care and promote community well-being. That’s the message SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University’s University Hospital at Downstate is sending during National Hospital Week 2008. As part of the celebration, University Hospital will host its Annual Cultural Health Fair on Saturday, May 17 from 11 am – 3 pm on Lenox Road between East 35th and East 37th Street.

“We want people to understand hospitals are all about culturally diverse health care and healing,” says Maria Yomtov, RN, MSN, CDE, director of the Center for Community Health Promotion and Wellness. “Our focus is very positive. Doctors, nurses and staff have one mission and that’s to help people of all cultures get the best care possible.”

Keeping hospitals in the spotlight is part of the tradition of National Hospital Week, a celebration of care that dates back to 1921. That year, a magazine editor in Chicago suggested an annual “open house” where an apprehensive public could see first hand the vital work performed inside hospitals.  The idea spread across the country and helped change the perception about hospitals from places of illness to places of healing. Today, National Hospital Week is the nation’s largest health care celebration.

This year, University Hospital health fair organizers have selected a theme that emphasizes the healing process: “National Hospital Week—Where Healing Happens Every Day.”  Attractions at the health fair include free health screenings and information, entertainment for children and adults, and activities highlighting the cultural diversity of the community SUNY Downstate serves.

For more information about University Hospital’s 2008 Cultural Health Fair call 718-270-2020 or 718-270-3739.

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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.

UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.