Faculty & Staff

Dear friends and colleagues,

As winter's cold moves in and the holiday season shifts into full gear, I want to send my warmest wishes to you and your families. This is a season of giving, particularly to those in greatest need. Here at the Mailman School that kind of commitment to others knows no season. I'm proud to be part of a School that gives 365 days a year to the high-needs community in which it dwells, and many other communities around the globe as well. 

It is, of course, the essential role of public health to create and translate knowledge that improves the wellbeing of all, with particular attention to those who are most vulnerable. President Bollinger recently requested an analysis of our School’s activities and programs within northern Manhattan, and it was inspiring to compile the range of work that you do. Our environmental scan ran to 40 items. Among the many ways members of the School's community contribute to the community are these.

• Through our Asthma Basics for Children program we teach local parents how to keep their children healthier and avoid emergency room runs and hospitalizations.
• Through our Men's Health Clinic we tend to one of the most neglected populations in the U.S.—young urban men—providing primary healthcare, holistic health promotion, HIV counseling, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, and mental health services.
• Through Columbia Head Start we provide very early childhood education, healthcare, dental care and general support to some of the lowest income families in our neighborhood.
• Through the Northern Manhattan Start Right Coalition we work with community partners to successfully raise childhood immunization rates to and above national levels in Northern Manhattan neighborhoods. 
• In partnership with New York-Presbyterian Hospital Ambulatory Care Network, our School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) provide comprehensive primary care, reproductive health services, mental health services and health education to students in Washington Heights/Inwood and Harlem intermediate and high schools. 
• Through Project STAY we provide medical and psychosocial services for adolescents and young adults with or at risk of HIV in and around New York City. 
• Through the Center for Environmental Health in Northern Manhattan and our partnership with West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc. (WE ACT) and other community partners and stakeholders, we collaborate to provide outreach and education to community groups at risk of high exposure to hazardous substances including in the home. 
• Through the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health we are tracking the respiratory health, cognitive development, and level of cancer risk for hundreds of low-income children in the community who may be prenatally exposed to common urban air pollutants. 

In this edition of Momentum, you will read about another kind of commitment we are making to our community and to the environment at large: our efforts to reduce the School’s carbon footprint—an effort everyone can be part of. You will also find information about the CUMC toy drive and a clothing drive that benefit our Washington Heights neighbors. Knowing the generous and caring nature of this faculty and staff, I am sure that many of you will want to contribute to these good efforts.

I send you my very best wishes for the holidays and a wonderful new year.

Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH
Dean and DeLamar Professor