Take Care New York program is a hit

The third annual Take Care New York campaign, hosted by the Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), is officially underway throughout the city. The campaign is intended to aid New Yorkers without insurance in keeping themselves and their families healthy.
&#8220Take Care New York is a month-long campaign in the public hospitals and their offsite centers to coordinate events and activities to have people screened,” said Lata Singh-Vasconcellos, Senior Associate Director of External Affairs, Marketing and Advertising of Queens Hospital Center.
The campaign, which runs every year during the month of October, provides free screenings for people without health insurance, of which include tests for depression, HIV, glucose, hypertension, as well as flu shots and prostate specific antigen tests to check for prostate cancer. In addition to the testing, the health centers also provide counseling and education on how to lead a healthy life.
The two public hospitals in Queens, Elmhurst Hospital Center and Queens Hospital Center in Jamaica, coordinate the events and provide screenings at their off-site centers.
&#8220It’s proven to be a very successful initiative and has helped people to get health maintenance and to coordinate their families to receive health care as well,” Singh-Vasconcellos said.
She added that a main objective of the campaign is to provide a comfort level for patients to allow them to come back and bring their families, something that can prove difficult due to the diversity of the area.
&#8220It’s great for people to be encouraged to come here and feel comfortable,” Singh-Vasconcellos said. &#8220It’s a very diverse borough, and when they come in and they see that its not intimidating it encourages them to come back.”
Of particular emphasis for Queens Hospital Center and its affiliated sites is to get as many people as possible to test for HIV. Over the years, Jamaica has been one of the few areas in New York City that has seen a rise in HIV cases rather than a decrease.
&#8220This area is definitely recognized as being on the rise with HIV,” Singh-Vasconcellos said. &#8220We want to change that.”
As an incentive for patients to take part in the Take Care New York project, HHC is providing free Metro Cards and other prizes to people who have been screened. The health facilities hosting the screenings also have festivities and give-aways to assist in providing an increased comfort level.
&#8220[The campaign] is going great,” Singh-Vasconcellos said. &#8220We’re seeing a lot of young families coming in. It’s a great effort and something that we encourage people to take advantage of.”