SENECA FALLS, N.Y. — New York Chiropractic College (NYCC) in Seneca Falls is now known as Northeast College of Health Sciences. 

The new name — which New York State approved June 7 — was chosen to “best reflect the transforming scope” of educational opportunities offered at the college and to support the “evolving range of growing” health-care professions, the college said in a June 8 announcement. 

Changing the college’s name has “long been discussed,” the school noted. The effort was formally addressed in the NYCC BLUEprint Strategic Plan 2018-2021. In June 2019, the NYCC board of trustees voted unanimously for a name change. 

The process was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the state granted NYCC authorization for the new name this June.

The Northeast College of Health Sciences says it “remains committed to its strong foundation” of chiropractic education and plans to continue growing its Doctor of Chiropractic program while developing new academic programs to support in-demand career paths. 

“As we continue to prepare our students to be leaders in an ever-more diverse variety of healthcare disciplines, it is fitting that our strong history of academic excellence in chiropractic will remain as our college’s core,” Dr. Michael Mestan, president of Northeast College Health Sciences, said in a release.

The college’s history

In operation for more than 100 years, the school’s original name was Columbia Institute of Chiropractic (CIC), founded by Frank Dean in New York City in 1919. 

In the 1970s, CIC became New York Chiropractic College, moving to Long Island and receiving accreditation of its Doctor of Chiropractic program from the Council on Chiropractic Education. 

The college moved to its third location in Seneca Falls in 1991, expanding onto a 286-acre campus with space for new facilities. They included a library, athletic center, and residence halls. Another academic expansion in the early 2000s resulted in the addition of graduate degrees in disciplines that included applied clinical nutrition along with human anatomy & physiology instruction. 

Northeast College of Health Sciences says it had a “strong” enrollment for its spring 2021 doctor of chiropractic program, seating its largest incoming spring cohort since 2018. 

A recent report from the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities in New York (CICU) indicates Northeast College of Health Sciences contributed an estimated $65 million to the state’s economy in 2019 and was responsible for a total estimated employment of close to 600 jobs, the college said.       

The CDC recently announced it has awarded Health Research Inc. (agent for New York State Department of Health) and the Fund for Public Health in New York (agent for NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene) more than $68.6 million to address COVID-19-related health disparities. 

The funding, part of a $2.25 billion nationwmide investment, seeks to “advance health equity” by expanding state, local, U.S. territorial, and freely associated state health departments’ capacity and services, the CDC said in a release. 

The intended outcomes of these grants are to: 1) reduce COVID-19-related health disparities; 2) improve and increase testing and contact tracing among populations that are at higher risk and are underserved, including racial and ethnic-minority groups and people living in rural communities; and, 3) improve state, local, U.S. territorial, and freely associated state health department capacity and services to prevent and control COVID-19 infection.

“The pandemic has laid bare longstanding health inequities, and health departments are on the front line of efforts to address those inequities,” Dr. José T. Montero, director of CDC’s Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support, said. “These grants will provide these health departments with much needed support to address disparities in communities that need it most.”

The full list of state, local, and territorial health departments receiving the grants can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/docs/partnerships/OT21-2103-Awardees.pdf

This initiative is funded through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021.

SYRACUSE — St. Joseph’s Health is creating what it calls a Food Farmacy program that seeks to help address food insecurity and to better manager chronic diseases. 

St. Joseph’s pilot program is made possible by a $500,000 grant from the New York City–based Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, per a news release.

The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation grant program aims to support individuals and families who are “at-risk or underserved,” as described in the release. Food insecurity is a measure of the unavailability of food and individuals’ ability to access it.

St. Joseph’s Health cites data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that indicates more than 35 million Americans lived in households that were considered food insecure during 2019. Poor nutrition is a root cause of many chronic diseases, St. Joseph’s Health said.

“We’re excited to implement the Food Farmacy because it will allow us to better support patients who have uncontrolled diabetes by providing them with healthy food as part of their treatment plan,” Deb Mendzef, Food Farmacy coordinator at St. Joseph’s Health, said. “The program helps eliminate barriers to good health by educating patients about the benefits of eating healthy and then providing the healthy food they need to get started on a path to wellness.”

About the program

In the first year of operation, clinicians at St. Joseph’s Primary Care Center-Main will refer patients to the program. 

Once enrolled, the patients will take part in a program where they will receive nutritional counseling from a registered dietitian and participate in diabetes self-management classes with St. Joseph’s Family Medicine resident physicians. A hospital pharmacist will also provide medication-management support. 

Most importantly, participants will also receive, at no cost, fresh and healthy food (including recipes) for two meals per day, five days per week, for the entire time they participate in the program, the release stated.

The meals are not only provided for participants, but also for the other members in their household (up to six individuals, including the patient).

“Food insecurity is a predictor of health and is linked to many chronic diseases. We are proud that we will be able to ensure that these patients, and their family members, have the resources necessary to provide a quality and healthy diet,” Mendzef said.

The nonprofit Mother Cabrini Health Foundation says it works to “improve the health and well-being of the vulnerable New Yorkers, bolster the health outcomes of targeted communities, eliminate barriers to care, and bridge gaps in health services.”