University Hospital of Brooklyn Promotes Message of Health and Hope During National Hospital Week:
May 7, 2010
Holds Annual Health Fair May 15
A hospital is more than a place where people go to heal, it is a part of the community that fosters health and represents hope: from providing treatment and comfort to the sick, to welcoming new life into the world, hospitals are central to a healthy and optimistic community. That’s the message SUNY Downstate Medical Center’s University Hospital of Brooklyn is sending during National Hospital Week 2010. As part of the celebration, University Hospital will host its Annual Health Fair on Saturday, May 15 from 11 am – 3 pm on Lenox Road between East 35th and East 37th Street.
“National Hospital Week, first and foremost, is a celebration of people,” said Maria Yomtov, RN, MSN, CDE, director of the Center for Community Health Promotion and Wellness at SUNY Downstate. “We are extremely proud of every member of our staff and we recognize the important role they play in extending a sense of trust to our patients and our communities.”
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 – Health, Hope & Healing.” 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. In addition, SUNY Downstate will be celebrating 150 years of providing medical education to Brooklyn during the National Hospital Week Health Fair.
For more information about University Hospital’s 2010 Health Fair call 718-270-2020 or 718-270-3739.
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About SUNY Downstate Medical Center
SUNY Downstate Medical Center, founded in 1860, was the first medical school in the United States to bring teaching out of the lecture hall and to the patient’s bedside. A center of innovation and excellence in research and clinical service delivery, SUNY Downstate Medical Center comprises a College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, a School of Graduate Studies, School of Public Health, University Hospital of Brooklyn, and a multifaceted biotechnology initiative including the Downstate Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT for early-stage and more mature companies, respectively.
SUNY Downstate ranks twelfth nationally in the number of alumni who are on the faculty of American medical schools. More physicians practicing in New York City have graduated from SUNY Downstate than from any other medical school.