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Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, Inc.

268 Canal Street
New York, NY 10012

The goal of the Heart Healthy Education for Chinese American Consumers and Vendors project is to implement a comprehensive, integrated community-based strategy to promote healthy eating and physical activity to prevent heart disease, stroke and diabetes. The project is carried out in collaboration with the existing Heart Healthy Coalition. Key members contributing to the program include NYU Downtown Hospial - Chinese Community Partnership for Health; Bellevue Hospital; Chinese-American Planning Council; American Heart Association; Center for the Study of Asian American Health; Chinese Community Social Service and Health Council; Confucius Pharmacy; and a private medical consultant. The project targets three prominent Chinese American communities, Lower Manhattan’s Chinatown, Sunset Park of Brooklyn, and Flushing, Queens.

The project partners with local restaurants and eateries to promote healthy eating by creating or modifying healthy food options on their menus. Presentations are provided to restaurant workers on nutrition and heart heathy cooking, and a nutritionist provides technical support in creating or modifying existing dishes. Businesses are helped in marketing their healthy options through promotion at community health events, senior centers and local agencies. A 12-week physical activity and preventive education program includes multiple workshop sessions on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, physical activity, nutrition and diet, medication and supplies, and the importance of staying active and eating healthy, and involves exercise classes, distribution of information on physical activity resources, and field trips to supermarkets and grocery stores. Staff participate in two major community health events each year, providing education on diabetes and heart healthy lifestyles, and screenings for diabetes, heard disease and stroke predictors. Follow up and referrals are provided for high risk individuals. A culturally specific and linguistically appropriate media campaign is conducted to increase public awareness of the indicators and risk factors of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke, as well as its prevention, detection and management.