New York City

We’re all working hard to make pulse ox a requirement in New York, and we know that the more people help out, the better. But how do we reach people in our community who are not yet advocates? Meet them at a common medium, like a newspaper, used by most of the community. Letters to the editor can be effective in reaching groups outside You’re the Cure and validates the message because it comes from a real person in the community: their neighbor.

We’ve provided an outline to help you get started on your LTE. The best part of an LTE is that it reflects the tone of its author, which is why we’ve only provided an outline, not a template. We want your voice to shine through! Before you start writing, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Visit your local newspaper’s website to learn how to submit your LTE. If necessary, give your editor a call and ask the preferred method of submission.
2. Make sure you leave your name and contact information (including phone number) when you submit. The newspaper will need to contact you to verify you truly submitted the letter before they can publish it.
3. LTEs should be short. Try to keep your message around 100 words.

LTE Outline

1. Share your story: If you have a pulse ox story, consider sharing it here so you can make a personal connection from the start. Make sure you explain what pulse ox is upon your first mention of it (feel free to use fact 3a. below for this explanation).
2. State your intent: Right after you share your story, state your intent: to get decision-makers to make pulse oximetry a requirement in New York.
3. Back up your intent with facts:Here are some facts you can include in your LTE to give credibility to your appeal:

1. Pulse oximetry is a screening that checks a baby’s blood oxygen level through sensors placed on their toe and finger. The results can indicate whether a child has a congenital heart defect (CHD) or not. It’s fast, painless and affordable, costing approximately five dollars, and most importantly, it can save lives.
2. It’s quick and painless, but more importantly, it can save lives. Before a baby leaves the hospital, the test helps identify heart defects, potentially saving its life.
3. Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most common birth defect in the U.S. and the leading killer of infants with birth defects. And they cost money: in 2004, hospital costs for all individuals with CHD totaled $2.6 billion.
4. Wider use of pulse ox screening could help identify more than 90 percent of heart defects.
5. In New Jersey, just hours after their law took effect, a newborn’s life was saved.

• Restate your intent: Urge lawmakers one more time to pass pulse ox legislation and then end with a charge for other people in your community to do the same. Caring for children truly is a community effort, and we need help from all our neighbors and friends. Make sure to direct them to YouretheCure.org so they can learn how they can get involved. 

 Let us know if you plan to submit or if you have submitted a LTE! You can let us know by replying to this post!  We want to hear from you!  And if you need any help at all let us know by replying to this post and we are happy to reach out!

As the American Heart Association continues to prioritize CPR training, especially for New York's high school students, we have come across some of the most amazing advocates who are working tirelessly to support our policy work.  But heroes come from every walk of life and anyone who is focused on CPR & AED awareness deserves our recognition.  Along those lines, the American Heart Association has decided to reinstate the NYC Heartsaver Recognition Program! 

These awards will help shine a spotlight on exemplary New Yorkers who've gone above and beyond the call of duty to help rescue someone.  Whether the rescuer is a trained responder or someone who was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time...we want to hear their story!  Please download the application here and send it back to our office by May 31st.  I look forward to hearing from you!

Download the application here.

We need your help.  The bill to screen babies for heart defects needs to be placed on a committee agenda.  With two simple calls, you can help all babies have a healthy start.  This simple test called pulse ox, consists of sensors placed on a baby’s hand and foot to check low blood oxygen levels - a significant indicator of heart issues in babies.  New research suggests wider use of pulse ox screening could help identify more than 90 percent of heart defects.  In New Jersey, just hours after their law took effect, a newborn’s life was saved.

We now have lots of sponsors for the bill to ensure all babies are screened for heart defects with a simple pulse ox test.  The next step?  Placing it on a committee agenda.  We know many lawmakers will support this bill…but we don't know when or if it will come up for a vote so we need your help!

 Phone Call blitz for this Wednesday

Will you make two simple calls to help all babies have a healthy start?  We are asking everyone to make two simple calls today to help the pulse ox bill move out of committee.  It’s easy… You will simply leave a message and can use the notes below. 

 Call Senator Kemp Hannon at 518-455-2200

• Hello my name is….
• I’m a NYS resident and calling to urge you to place the pulse ox bill on the next Committee agenda
• If they ask you for the bill number, it is S270.

Call Assembly Member *** Gottfried at 518-455-4941

• Hello my name is….
• I’m a NYS resident and calling to urge you to place the pulse ox bill on the next Committee agenda
• If they ask you for the bill number, it is A2316

Additional Talking Points:

• If we can help save a child’s life, shouldn’t we? With pulse ox screening, it really is as simple as that.
• Pulse ox is quick and painless, but more importantly, it can save lives.
• Before a baby leaves the hospital, the pulse ox screening helps identify heart defects, potentially saving its life.
• Eleven other states now call for babies to be screened using pulse oximetry.  Why not NYS?
• Wider use of pulse ox screening could help identify more than 90 percent of heart defects.
• Congenital heart defects (CHD), are the most common birth defect in the U.S. and the leading killer of infants with birth defects.
• The simple, low-cost test, pulse oximetry, or pulse ox, consists of sensors placed on a baby’s hand and foot to check low blood oxygen levels - a significant indicator of heart issues in babies. 
• In New Jersey, just hours after their law took effect, a newborn’s life was saved. 

 Let us know you made the calls and how they go by replying to this blog! 

It's hard to imagine now.  But picture New York City 11 years ago...at a bar, restaurant or really any workplace...and cigarette smoke would have to be part of your vision.  It would not be unusual for New Yorkers to be smoking at their seats while dining out, lighting up during a Broadway play, or even feeding their addiction while at their office desk.  What a difference a decade makes!  Today, less than 15% of New Yorkers smoke, down from 21.5% in 2002 before the Smoke Free Air Act was passed.  The impact was even more dramatic on our city's youth, going from nearly 18% to just about 9% today.  These numbers equal lives saved.  The American Heart Association's mission in New York City has been advanced exponentially due to the leadership of our courageous government partners.  With the Mayor's recent announcement to further target the ploys o f the tobacco industry, we look forward to many more successes in the decade ahead.  In the meantime...Happy 10th Anniversary to the New York City Smoke Free Air Act!

Check out this great blog post by Inside Schools which features the American Heart Association's report on physical education in NYC schools released earlier this month.  If you haven't already done so, take action today to make sure your Council Member has received a copy of the report!   http://bit.ly/YKCjKi 

Yesterday, American Heart Association advocates joined with Speaker Christine Quinn and members of the Council's Women's Caucus to officially declare the month of February as American Heart Month! Pictured here are several members of the Women's Caucus, along with American Heart Association volunteers Dr. Stacey E. Cohen and Mary Oldak. And me...all the way over to the right!

Today, the American Heart Association released preliminary results of a survey analysis regarding Physical Education (PE) in all New York City schools.  Every school, in all five boroughs was invited to participate and the American Heart Association secured responses from 272!  More than half of these schools are not in compliance with NY state standards for physical education.  And the American Heart Association maintains that these standards are not strong enough!  While the results are compelling, this is just one step in our goal to improve PE for every student.  You can review the report which is attached here...and to help share the results with City Council Members, be sure to visit our Action Center tab on the You're the Cure website.  It's time we stopped ignoring the 800 lb. gorilla in NYC and get him to slim down!

Please click on the following link to review the report:

https://media.gractions.com/F410DC9E068B98B88EA0B5C54D6885F750D9D0A3/2850366f-07e8-4da8-a7ba-ff6d1b687975.pdf

If you would like to help us on this issue, please comment or email me at robin.vitale@heart.org.

What a day in New York City!  We have lots of photos to share from our whirlwind tour in City Hall...but really quick I wanted to share some shots of our press conference with Council Member Mathieu Eugene.  Thank you to Dr. Steven Rudolph from Maimonides, Dr. Susanna Horvath from Columbia and Dr. Salman Azhar from Lutheran medical centers for lending their valuable voices.  And a very special shout-out to stroke survivor, advocate and all-around awesome lady - Jennifer Butler!   Thanks for participating in the press conference and personalizing this issue in such an effective way, Jen!

There is so much going on this week in New York City!  It's after midnight, and I'm just now getting to submit this blog post.  Here's why I'm burning the midnight oil...

• On Wednesday morning, the American Stroke Association (yes, that's us!) is supporting a press conference with Council Member Mathieu Eugene as Resolution 982 is posted for a vote by Council.  For those that took action on the alert a few weeks ago, you'll remember that Reso 982 asks Congress to increase funding to the NIH, specifically for stroke research.  Sound good?  Yeah, we thought so too!
• Right after that press conference, we're heading across the street to Council offices to present to the Council Women's Caucus about our Go Red for Women movement and how the past 10 years have changed the landscape when it comes to women fighting their number one killers - cardiovascular diseases and stroke! 
• And as if that all weren't enough for one morning, we next head back across the street to City Hall for yet another media opportunity with the Women's Caucus and Speaker Quinn as Council presents a city proclamation to the American Heart Association in honor of Go Red for Women, National Wear Red Day and American Heart Month!

It's a lot of running back and forth, but it will be so worth it...not only for the awareness building process, but also for the calories burned as we run across Broadway!

But wait...we're not done yet....are you ready for the biggest, most exciting development yet for the American Heart Association in New York City?  Really ready?  I mean, really, really ready??  Well, sorry...you'll have to wait until Thursday!  I can't wait to share with you the results of a really important project...one that will hopefully bring us some much needed headlines about a certain 800 lb. gorilla! 

Today, the NYC Council's Health Committee hosted a hearing with the intention to support an increase in federal funding to the National Institutes of Health for stroke research.  With 33,000 jobs on the line and a potential loss of $4.5 billion in economic activity if our federal decision-makers can't come to terms with the 'fiscal cliff,' City Council's action could not come at a more vital time.  If you haven't done so already, please take action on the NYC alert to send a note of support to the Council Committee members!

The conversation today with the Committee took a welcome turn when they started to ask about the status of the city's stroke system of care.  They want to examine how we respond to 911 calls for stroke patients, how they're transported to appropriate hospitals, what type of quality guidelines are being implemented for treatment of the patients, and how we can better support rehabilitation.  We have some homework to do to follow up to some of their questions, but their interest is truly exciting!