Harlem, Take Care of Yourself 2011

By Alexa Mieses

On May 14, 2011 I felt as though our event, the Harlem, Take Care of Yourself Health Fair, had come full circle. So much had changed, yet so much remained the same. I remember when I was the Secretary of MAPS in 2009, our event attracted less than ten members from the Harlem community (yes, you read right)! MAPS worked furiously planning the event and while we may not have had the turnout for which we had hoped, we at least laid out a clear and distinct framework to follow the following year (with special effort from former MAPS President Maurice Selby). Our theme was and continues to be "education, legislation and participation," as we focus on health from these three angles. That year, Dr. Lynne Holden of Mentoring in Medicine, Inc. accepted the Bynoe-Thomas Memorial Award and Senator Bill Perkins and Council Member Robert Jackson addressed the guests.

By 2010, after being elected President and inspired by my summer position at Gay Men's Health Crisis, I suggested MAPS devote our second annual event to HIV education and prevention. HIV/AIDS is one of the leading causes of death among Harlem residents and black women. With old fashioned team work and the creation of various planning committees, MAPS was able to host over thirty organizations and over 100 community members from Harlem and Washington Heights. We had increased our turnout by twenty-fold!

Last week I stood outdoors at the City College Quad to begin the opening remarks on a gray and windy day. We had prayed for sunshine all week but could live with potential rain as long as we were actually spared the precipitation. What started off as a slow and dreary day turned out to be our best event yet!

HTCY 2011: Healthy Youth, Healthier Tomorrow, welcomed over 200 members of the Upper Manhattan community as we focused on pediatric/adolescent health. We welcomed pediatrician Dr. Andre Gray as he answered guests' questions and advised them on ways to remain healthy. Council Member Jackson attended the event, just as he did in 2009. This year he accepted the Bynoe-Thomas Memorial Award for his efforts to improve public education and contributions to the Upper Manhattan community. The Department of Parks and Recreation hosted a Zumba workshop and LatinFX hosted a dance workshop. We had successfully continued the theme of education, legislation and participation! The CCNY Middle Eastern Dance and Music Club performed, in addition to vocalist Jami Jackson and the LatinFX dancers. Coloring, face painting, food and give-aways were provided.

Bynoe-Thomas Memorial Award

From Left to Right: MAPS President Alexa Mieses; Council Member Robert Jackson;

MAPS Faculty Advisor Michael Samms

At the end of the day on May 14, it finally hit me: this would be my last HTCY health fair as a MAPS member/leader. I feel so lucky to have been a part of the event's evolution and grateful to have had the opportunity to work with people that are just as dedicated as I to serving the community. The event united students, health care professionals, children, parents, politicians and performers, for the same goal, to make a difference in Harlem. In just two short years, I believe we did.

MAPS Members Pose After the Event

To be a part of the event, email: HarlemTakeCare@gmail.com

Third Annual

Harlem, Take Care of Yourself

Health Fair

"Healthy Youth, Healthier Tomorrow"

Saturday, May 14, 2011

12 PM - 4 PM

The Quad at City College

139th Street and Amsterdam Avenue

New York, NY 10031

Guests will enjoy:

• Free health services/info
• Free food
• Free entertainment
• Free iPod give-aways

Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students

By Alexa MiesesI became an honors research associate at City College in January 2010. I work in a neuroscience laboratory with Dr. Jay Edelman. My current project examines the effect visual instructions have on express saccades (short, jerky eye movements made in response to an auditory or visual stimulus). Last week I had the pleasure of traveling to Charlotte, NC to give a poster presentation on my project at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS).

While this was my first time at a national research conference, I can confidently say that it was amazing! I presented early in the week which was great because it allowed me to enjoy the rest of the conference's program without worry. Presenting was an adventure all its own. The night before my presentation other students and I gathered in the hotel room and practiced. The next day I set up my poster and waited patiently for conference attendees to swarm the exhibit hall. It did not take long before high school, college and graduate students asked me about my work. It felt so great to be able to speak confidently about my work and share with others what I have learned in the lab!

While my poster presentation was a personal conference highlight, every day welcomed keynote speakers and lecturers that sparked everyone's interest and enthusiasm. Here are just a few of the great minds that presented at the conference: Dr. Irene Pepperberg from Harvard University discussed communicative abilities of gray parrots; MacArthur "Genius" fellow Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi discussed imaging the glycome with bioorthogonal chemistry; City College's very own Dr. Jerry Guyden discussed thymic nurse cells; Johns Hopkins' Dr. Lisa Cooper discussed the doctor-patient relationship and its role in health disparities; Dr. Francis Collins, Director of NIH, discussed opportunities in biomedical research.

Dr. Jerry Guyden

Dr. Neil Tyson

There were two presentations I especially enjoyed. Hayden Planetarium Director, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson's presentation about the universe was interesting. With humor and poise, Dr. Tyson touched on everything from life on Mars to black holes; from the rings of saturn to dark energy. Dr. Tyson wonderfully makes astrophysics and astronomy accessible to the public. Last, but certainly not least, Dr. Maya Angelou spoke with us and stressed the importance of scientists embracing the arts! In addition to all of this, the conference hosted a three-day exhibition/recruitment fair featuring dozens of graduate programs, medical schools and research institutions; each day was also studded with various professional development workshops.

ABRCMS celebrated its tenth anniversary and truly did so with a bang. Over 3,000 participants registered for the conference and over 1,000 students presented. I personally celebrated my first research endevour, and I am so excited to continue to pursue research! ABRCMS featured distinguished guest speakers, an extensive recruitment fair, useful professional development workshops and allowed the "nerds of color," (as one keynote speaker joked) to gather and exchange ideas. I told you it was amazing!

Dr. Maya Angelou

Positive Message from a Pornographic Film

By Alexa Mieses

The New York Times reported today that a South African producer recently made the country's first all-black pornographic film. More than just the first all-black film, the film features a message about safe sex practices as the film's stars were not only tested for HIV but used condoms on screen. The New York Times also said that this film not only answers South Africans' complaints that all adult entertainment comes from the US or Europe, but it also encourages condom use in a country where a negative attitude about condoms still remains.

Despite the industry's adherence to regular HIV testing, the virus is still able to spread among the industry's performers. In 2004, an American male adult entertainment performer transmitted the HIV virus to three female performers. In October 2010, another performer tested positive for HIV, causing Vivid Entertainment, a popular adult entertainment company, to halt production. Read more here. Perhaps the use of condoms in pornographic films in the US would not only help protect the performers, as testing is not 100% sufficient to cease transmission of HIV, but it would also encourage viewers to engage in safer sexual practices.

MAPS Mentor Feature: Dr. Lynne Holden, MD

By Alexa Mieses

In 2009, Dr. Lynne Holden was the recipient of the Bynoe-Thomas Memorial Award at the first annual Harlem, Take Care of Yourself Health Fair. MAPS members consider her a role model and we are not the only ones who think so. Dr. Holden was born in Philadelphia and later attended Howard University for her course of undergraduate study. She returned to Philadelphia and graduated from Temple University School of Medicine, before becoming a New York resident and physician in the Bronx. Dr. Holden is an attending physician of emergency medicine at Montefiore Hospital, associate professor of clinical emergency medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University, and is the founding president of Mentoring in Medicine (MIM).

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MIM is a non-profit organization that links students from disadvantaged backgrounds, as early as in third grade, with health care professionals across all fields. Visit MIM for more information. In addition to networking events, MIM provides MCAT and professional school application preparation, a clinical exposure program for pre-health students, and hosts the annual "Yes, I Can Be a Healthcare Professional," Conference in New York City. The 2010 conference will take place at Frederick Douglas Academy in December. More information to come soon!

Dr. Lynne Holden is not just a mentor to MAPS members she is an amazing physician, teacher and woman! Check out what the New York Times, the Lifetime Network, and Albert Einstein COM had to say!

Dr. Holden receiving the Bynoe-Thomas Memorial Award at the MAPS health fair in 2009

Breast Cancer Awareness

October is breast cancer awareness month so show you care, blogosphere!

HIV Testing Is Now a Routine Part of Health Care in New York

HIV is a leading cause of death the Black community. Please share this colleagues and patients.

HIV Testing Is Now a Routine Part of Health Care in New York

Change in state law requires health professionals to offer voluntary HIV tests to patients 13 to 64 years old. New law also simplifies informed consent process, allowing for verbal consent in some circumstances

September 1, 2010 – Voluntary HIV testing is now part of routine medical care in the state of New York. As of today, due to a change in New York’s State Public Health Law, New York residents receiving health services at most medical facilities should now expect to be offered a voluntary HIV test. With limited exceptions, the new State law requires health care professionals to offer all patients between the ages of 13 to 64 a voluntary HIV test. The law applies to anyone receiving treatment for a non-life-threatening condition in a hospital, a hospital emergency department or a primary care setting, such as a doctor’s office or outpatient clinic.

The new law also simplifies the process for consenting to a voluntary HIV test. Under the state’s old law, patients had to provide specific written consent before receiving a test. The newly amended law lets patients give oral consent if the test will produce results within an hour. The patient’s consent must be documented in the patient’s medical record, and the provider must share seven specified points of information about HIV. Patients must still provide written consent for HIV tests that don’t yield results within an hour, but the process has been simplified. Consent for HIV testing can now be included in a patient’s general consent for routine medical care, as long as the consent form lets patients opt out of HIV testing.

“This State law will have its greatest impact here in New York City, where more than 107,000 residents are living with HIV/AIDS and thousands more do not know they are infected,” said Dr. Thomas Farley, New York City Health Commissioner. “These people may not be receiving the care they need and may be unknowingly infecting their partners. If you are not offered an HIV test the next time you visit a health care provider and you want to know your status, ask for it.”

Statewide, a third of HIV-positive people learn their status only after reaching advanced stages of infection. In 2006, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended routine testing so that infected people could get diagnosed earlier and take steps to preserve their own health and protect others. With this revision of the State Public Health Law, New York joins the 45 states that have acted on this important recommendation.

Under the new law, providers must link people with positive test results to care and treatment if they consent. The requirements apply to physicians and physician assistants, internal medicine providers, family medicine and pediatric practitioners, primary care obstetrician-gynecologists, nurse practitioners and midwives.

“Past New York City initiatives have highlighted the benefits of routine HIV testing,” said New York State Senator Thomas K. Duane, the legislation's prime sponsor. “The Health and Hospitals Corporation’s pilot testing project and the Health Department’s “Bronx Knows” initiative both showed that when HIV testing becomes a routine part of medical care, the number of people who know their status increases and the stigma surrounding HIV and HIV testing declines. With this law now in effect, the whole state of New York should start to experience those benefits.”

“We hope New Yorkers will take advantage of this law and view HIV testing as part of routine, quality medical care,” said Dr. Monica Sweeney, assistant commissioner for the Health Department’s Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control. “We all need to know our status, and the only way to know it is to get tested.”

Governor David Paterson signed S8227 into law on July 30, 2010. The legislation amended New York State Public Health Law Articles 21 and 27-F that govern HIV testing and confidentiality in the state. People under 18 donot need parental consent to be tested for HIV or other sexually transmitted infections. Physicians in New York City are required to report positive diagnoses to the NYC Health Department, and laboratories are required to report HIV-positive cases to the New York State Health Department. But like all other medical information, HIV tests results – whether positive or negative – are kept strictly confidential in accordance with the law.

Any New York City resident can get a free HIV test at one of the Health Department’s STD or TB clinics. For a complete list of locations throughout the city, call 311 or visit www.nyc.gov/health./hivtesting.

Regards,

Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH

Assistant Commissioner, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Director, Brooklyn District Public Health Office (DPHO)