Be Healthy: Q&A with David Lehmann, Bronx Smoke-Free Partnership

David Lehmann, a longtime worker in the public health field, heads the Bronx Smoke-Free Partnership, a program funded by the State Department of Health and Human Services based at 1826 Arthur Ave. The Partnership works with community groups and organizations throughout the Bronx to prevent young people from smoking and to shape public policy against the tobacco industry. Earlier this month, the Norwood News sat down with Lehmann to get his take on cigarettes and smoking in our community.

Monte Nurse Book Drive

A group of nurses at Montefiore Medical Center held a book drive this holiday season, collecting children’s books to distribute at one of the hospital’s children’s health clinics.

2010 Year in Review: Missing a Bronx Hero

Megan Charlop cared. Everyone who knew her knows that. But her death last March at the age of 57 in a bicycling accident focused the broad community of family, friends, and colleagues she knitted together over 30 years — as a Bronx mom, advocate and activist — on just how much she cared and accomplished in her too-short life.

Fight Against AIDS Gets Personal

In a speech on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, at Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. called the fight against HIV/AIDS personal and said battling the disease was one of his administration’s top priorities. “No one is immune,” said Diaz, adding that two of his uncles passed away due to AIDS complications and that his chief of staff, Paul DelDuca, is HIV positive.

School Lunch Bill Passed, at Expense of Food Stamps

Lawmakers in Washington reauthorized funding for the Child Nutrition Act earlier this month, a bill that funds and sets the guidelines for a number of child nutrition programs, including how much federal money goes towards school lunches. The legislation, which comes up for renewal every five years, is a $4.5 billion package that included additional funding this year, something health advocates have long been lobbying for. But the extra money comes at a price, as the Senate dipped into $2.2 billion in stimulus funds intended to expand SNAP, the federal food stamps program. The cuts have put anti-hunger advocates in an awkward position, where support for one nutrition program means a major setback for another.

Tips for Enjoying Low-Calorie Holidays

It’s December, the season of holiday parties, endless office cookie trays and general excess. People tend to eat and drink more between Thanksgiving and their New Year’s resolutions, and the overindulgences can have negative health consequences. “We see so many people who have problems maintaining their health and weight at this time of year,” said Dr. Ernest Patti, a senior Emergency Room physician at St. Barnabas Hospital, who says many patients, especially diabetics, find themselves seeking medical treatment after months of holiday bingeing. “They eat and drink too much and, at the very least, feel sluggish, gain a few pounds and may not feel like themselves,” Patti said. “No one says you can’t party around the holidays, but moderation is the key.”

Op-ed: Should Parks and Beaches Be Smoke-Free?

As a child I always enjoyed going to our Bronx beaches and parks with my family. While affluent children enjoyed collecting seashells by the seashore, I remember fondly picking up cigarette butts so we could spell out our names with them. Little did we know of the harms of secondhand smoke and the impact discarded cigarette filters would have on our environment. The facts are indisputable and alarming. Smoking kills more New Yorkers each year than AIDS, drugs, homicide and suicide combined, and the Bronx has one of the highest rates of tobacco use in the city. Secondhand smoke is a known Class A carcinogen. Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can lead to more frequent asthma attacks in asthmatic children. Cigarette butts are toxic, slow to decompose, costly to manage and growing in volume; 75 percent of the litter found on NYC beaches is cigarette butts, and it takes over a year and a half for a cigarette filter to decompose.

Teen Fitness Program Wins $20,000 Grant to Expand

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, about a dozen teenagers darted back and forth across the gymnasium at PS 8, their sneakers squeaking on the polished floors. Running drills were followed by several minutes of jumping jacks, then a game of basketball. Despite what looked like rigorous exercise, the kids were joking and smiling. The teens are part of “B’N Fit,” a year-round intensive fitness program run by Montefiore Medical Center and the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center that aims to help adolescents lose weight and embrace a healthy lifestyle. This month, the program scored $20,000 from the Coca-Cola Foundation to expand its service — part of a $300,000 pot of funds that the beverage company gave out to organizations this year in the form of “Healthy Active Living” grants.

The High Cost of Undiagnosed Diabetes

When most people find out they have diabetes, it’s in their doctor’s office, following a routine physical exam that reveals their blood sugar is too high. But some people get the news in a more dire way — when they end up in the emergency room. The Bronx has the highest rate of diabetes in the city, with 12 percent of people here diagnosed with the disease. Many more probably have it, but just don’t recognize the symptoms; the city’s health department estimates that some 200,000 New Yorkers are diabetic, but don’t know it.