FOOTING THE BILL
Activists leave shoes outside de Blasio’s Park Slope gym
BY BEN VERDE
Transportation advocates lined the
sidewalk outside of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s
go-to YMCA branch in Park Slope with
an row of empty shoes, hoping the scene
would call Hizzoner’s attention to the 22
pedestrians killed by drivers in the city
since New Years.
At least, that was the plan — another
pedestrian was killed in Queens during
the early hours Monday morning, bringing
the number of fatalities up to 23, and
leaving the activists short one pair of
shoes.
“We should not accept any more traffi c
NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County Launches Bariatric
Weight Loss Center To Improve Care for Obese Patients
COURIER L 22 IFE, MARCH 6-12, 2020
fatalities this year or ever,” the advocates
wrote on Twitter. “Would we really say
that if we ended this year at ‘only’ 22 dead
New Yorkers that would be a success?”
The display, which was installed outside
the Ninth Street gym early Monday
morning, featured quotes from the mayor
himself that read “Our society can’t prioritize
our cars over our children.”
The scourge of traffi c-related fatalities
comes on the heels of a particularly deadly
2019, when motorists killed 124 pedestrians
and 28 cyclists — marking the fi rst
time that traffi c fatalities had increased
since de Blasio took offi ce in 2013.
NYC Health + Hospitals/
Kings County has created
an integrated, team focused
approach to weight loss that
includes surgical, medical,
nutritional, psychiatric, and
exercise components. The
medical and family physicians
at NYC Health + Hospitals/
Kings County actively
identify patients who would
benefit from surgical intervention
for weight loss. Together,
surgery and medicine
work to optimize a patient’s
health and medical conditions
in preparation for weight loss
surgery. Patients are given
nutritional education from
an experienced bariatric nutritionist,
supervised physical
education and exercise
classes, and continued medical
oversight throughout their
entire weight loss journey.
Individuals with a body
mass index (BMI) of 35 or
greater are good candidates
for Bariatric Weight Loss
Surgery. Morbid obesity is a
significant national health issue.
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC)
reports that 64 percent of all
U.S. adults are overweight or
obese. Obesity is correlated
to the development of other
critical diseases such as high
blood pressure, diabetes and
heart disease.
NYC Health + Hospitals/
Kings County offers two types
of Bariatric Surgery. Sleeve
Gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y
Bypass. Both surgeries are
performed laparoscopically,
with small incisions for faster
healing. Bariatric surgery
works by reducing the amount
of food that fits in the stomach
and changing the way the patient
absorbs food.
It takes one to three hours
to perform Bariatric Surgery.
Patients will stay in the hospital
the night after surgery
and possibly be released in
one or two days after the procedure.
Additionally, patients
are placed on a unique diet for
a few weeks in order to heal
safely. Most patients are back
to normal activities within
two to four weeks after surgery.
After surgery, patients
will visit the Weight Loss Center
to consult with their physician
and receive nutrition
education from a registered
dietitian and prepare for lifelong
health habits to support
weight loss after operation.
“We’re incredibly excited
to introduce bariatric surgery
because of the impending impact
to the demographic we
serve,” said Nicholas Morin,
D.O., Director of Bariatric Surgery
at NYC Health + Hospitals/
Kings County. “The rates
of diabetes and hypertension
are high in Central Brooklyn,
and surgical weight loss can
really combat these issues.
The Bariatric program will
be an excellent resource for
patients that are ready to take
bold steps toward improving
their health.”
For more information
about Bariatric Surgery at
NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings
County, please email Kingscountyweightloss@
nychhc.
org or call 718-245-3325.
About NYC Health + Hospitals/
Kings County
NYC Health + Hospitals/
Kings County is a 624-bed acute
care teaching hospital located in
Central Brooklyn. Among our
highly specialized programs
are a Level I Trauma Center, Pediatric
Emergency Room, Level
3 Perinatal Center, Heart Health
Center, Stroke Center, Sickle Cell
Program, Behavioral Health
Center, and Diabetes Education
Center of Excellence. Many of
our programs have received
national recognition, including
our cardiac, stroke and diabetes
services. The hospital offers a
broad array of primary and specialty
care, including practices
in neuroscience, orthopedics,
urology and cardiology. Annually,
our ambulatory care clinics
see well over 500,000 visits, and
more than 150,000 visits in the
Behavioral Health outpatient
program, in addition to close
to 23,000 inpatient discharges.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings
County has played a major role
in providing health care to vulnerable
populations in Brooklyn
since 1831, and is part of NYC
Health + Hospitals, the largest
public health care system in the
nation. For more information
visit, nychealthandhospitals.
org/kingscounty.
HE A LTH C ARE PROF I L E – ADV ERT I S EMENT