Can a Wellness Center improve the health of Columbia's neighbors?

A new Wellness Center in the Jerome L. Greene Science Center on the University’s Manhattanville campus helps bring care to neighboring communities. The Center, which opened in spring 2017, has support from the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute and the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). CUIMC neurologist Olajide Williams and psychiatrist Sidney Hankerson are serving as directors.

“I don’t think that we, as physicians, will be able to realize the type of outcomes that our local communities desperately need if we do not venture out of the four walls of our hospitals,” said Williams, chief of staff of neurology at CUIMC.

The Center houses the Community Health Worker Stroke Prevention program to raise awareness of one of the leading US causes of death and disability. It also provides a home base for Mental Health First Aid, a program dedicated to improving access to quality mental health services in Upper Manhattan. On weekdays and select weekends, the Center administers blood pressure and cholesterol tests without charge to anyone who walks through its doors.

“This is going to be an amazing opportunity for collaborations, for the development of new partnerships between scientists, between physicians, between psychologists, and, most importantly, members of the West Harlem community to really identify how we can provide the best care delivered in a culturally sensitive way, and how we can positively impact the lives of people in West Harlem,” said Hankerson. Learn more.