CHMP

The two mythologies about disabled people break down to one: we can’t do anything, or two: we can do everything. But the truth is, we’re just human. –Mark O’Brien

I arrived at Sundance with a list of documentaries about traditional health issues. I quickly realized that so many of the films at the festival – documentaries and narratives – deal with “health” in its broadest sense. They may not be about a disease or a health policy issue, but they explore what it means to be fully human and fulfill dreams or encourage us to examine the many parts of ourselves. These too are important aspects of health. On the advice of Caroline Libresco, a programmer at the Sundance Film Festival, I expanded my documentary list to include narrative features and got a ticket for THE SURROGATE, a film by Ben Lewin starring Helen Hunt, John Hawkes and William H. Macy. THE SURROGATE is based on the true story of Mark O’Brien (played by John Hawkes) a poet and journalist who was confined to an iron lung and largely paralyzed after suffering polio as a child. At 38, he decides to lose his virginity with the help of a sex surrogate (Helen Hunt). It is a sweet and often funny portrayal of a man who, because of his condition and his upbringing, thought for many years he should not, or could not, have sex. With the help of a therapist, some supportive friends and most importantly, Helen Hunt’s sex surrogate character, he learns to fully inhabit his body and connect to others both physically and emotionally.

John Hawkes is incredible in his portrayal of Mark O’Brien. Hunt and Macy also give great performances. The movie has a lovely vibe, even if the pacing is a bit slow. It’s a rare chance (for many of us) to spend time with someone with such limited physical ability. Mark must lie horizontally at all times (he can’t sit up) – whether he’s home inside his iron lung or outside being pushed on a gurney.

The real Mark O’Brien wrote about losing his virginity in an article called “On Seeing a Sex Surrogate” published in 1990. He passed away in 1999. An Academy-Award winning documentary about Mark, BREATHING LESSONS, was made by Jessica Yu. You can watch it in full (it’s 35 mins) on the Snag Films website. A video interview with SURROGATE’s director, Ben Lewin can be seen here. You’ll be able to see the film in theaters soon – it was picked up yesterday by Fox Searchlight Pictures, great news for the filmmakers and for audiences.

Senior Fellow Hannah Rosenzweig, MPH is in snowy Park City, Utah reporting on films at Sundance 2012 for the Center for Health, Media & Policy.

On Wednesday, October 19 CHMP’s HEALTH IN FILM & NEW MEDIA series screened of ALL OF US, a documentary about the social factors that put women of color at risk for HIV. The event was held at the new CUNY School of Public Health in East Harlem. Our audience included community members, students, faculty, media and health professionals and others. It was a moving and thought-provoking event for all who attended. See photos more photos HERE.

ALL OF US follows three women in the Bronx, Dr. Mehret Mandefro and two of her patients, Chevelle and Tara. After the screening we had two surprise guests – Mehret and Chevelle! They joined our discussion and gave updates on their lives eight years after the making of the film. Chevelle continues work as a health educator. She also gave us a report on her son Robert Jr. (who we get to know in the film)! Mehret is a force in the public health and medical community, a White House Fellow (watch Mehret on the news here) and the Founder of TruthAid, a non-profit and educational empowerment organization. The organization grew from her work in the Bronx and her own experience of the challenges women face communicating with partners about sex and protection.

Our post-screening panelists Emily Abt, Juhie Bhatia and Valerie León lead a group discussion about topics including León’s domestic violence prevention work in East Harlem, Bhatia’s perspective on reporting on women’s health issues, particularly HIV and abuse, and Emily’s experience with the filmmaking and editing process. ALL OF US took four years to make.

Here are reactions from event attendees:

Charmaine Ruddock of Bronx Health REACH says: “the thought that has stuck with me from my viewing of the film was the fact that it awakened me from a long held position that HIV/AIDS is not a concern of mine.  As I viewed the film it dawned on me that even if I wasn’t in a high risk group, AIDS is a real concern for black women irrespective of ones socio-economic status.  To the point raised about being told that there isn’t an audience for media pieces on AIDS my response is, ‘Yes, there is”.  I represent an audience who are aware of the statistics but have not been given a real feel for the story of  HIV/AIDS and its impact on Sisters.  The film not only provided a narrative to go along with the statistics but a subtext was a challenge laid down…What am I going to do to help?”

Barbara Berney, of the Urban Health Program at CUNY/Hunter College was moved by “The impact that doing the project and making the film had on all the women involved, the patients, the doctors, the filmmaker, their friends. And how it reminded me of the power of women’s groups, the kind we had in the 70s that give us strength and knowledge and power.”

Join us for our next film in the fall series: THE WAITING ROOM – Thursday, Nov 17, 2011 at 6PM – 2180 Third Ave at 119th Street, auditorium, 2nd floor

I first learned Catherine Zeta-Jones had checked into a mental health facility last month on twitter – with a link to an article on Glamour Magazine’s website. I hardly ever read Glamour, but was moved by their support of Catherine and their message to readers – ‘it’s ok to not have it all together all the time gals’ – as simple as that is, it really resonated with me. It acknowledged the incredible pressure we’re often under – especially as caregivers (Zeta-Jones’ husband had been in treatment for cancer). But also in general as women, young and old and in-between, who work in or outside the home (or both), study, have relationships and/or kids, try to do good in the world, etc.

I certainly feel these pressures and appreciate the strength it took for Zeta-Jones to go public about her struggles with bipolar disorder. Many of us struggle silently with mental illness and depression. Somehow there is still stigma and shame associated with these diseases that I just learned cause a “greater disability burden to society than all cancers combined.” Rebecca Palpant who works with The Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism writes that “women with mental illness are your friends, family members, neighbors, and colleagues, who write, work, study, and also struggle with a serious health problem.”

This week is National Women’s Health Week (May 8-14) and the perfect time to draw attention to women’s mental health. I’ve been catching up on the issue and learning there isn’t enough focus on or funding for research aimed at mental health in women, yet there is great need for gender specific studies. The UN Commission on the Status of Women’s paper WOMEN AND MENTAL HEALTH is a must read, articulating how a holistic definition of women’s health across the life cycle influences how we develop good policy and funding priorities and standards of care. The article highlights how data does point to different patterns and manifestations of mental illness and psychological distress in women worldwide. They point out: “As feminist theorists have recently argued, women’s well-being is “not solely determined by biological factors and reproduction, but also by the effects of workload, nutrition, stress, war, migration.”

As a storyteller, I believe sharing personal stories and struggles has great impact on our understanding of and compassion for health and disease. There are many women, like Zeta-Jones, who have shared stories or experiences with mental illness and depression, and I hope there will be many more this week and beyond… whether it’s to our own families, friends, doctors, nurses or to the public.

On March 18th, Theresa Brown spoke at the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing’s Spring Forum after a reading of her writings that were adapted by playwright Abigail Hastings.  Brown earned a PhD in English from the University of Chicago and was teaching English at Tufts University when she began to question whether her work was providing her with the meaning and focus that she wanted. She decided to become a registered nurse and obtained a baccalaureate degree in nursing from the University of Pittsburgh. She assumed a position as a staff nurse on an oncology unit at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center at Shadyside where she continues to practice today. Her book, Critical Care: A New Nurse’s Reflections on Life, Death, and Everything in Between (Harper Collins) reveals the struggles and insanity of the first year of practice, when the learning curve is so steep that some new nurses quit before the first year ends.

Brown’ wrote a narrative for the New York Times Science section and was invited by Tara Parker Pope to write for the NY Times’ Well blog.  She has written for CNN.com and is becoming a highly sought-after speaker.

On Thursday night, she spoke about the “why” question–the most frequently asked question she gets: Why did you decide to become a nurse? And, sometimes, Why are you staying in nursing now that your writing career has taken off? She reflected on the very nature of the question that suggests that someone would choose anything except nursing.  We don’t ask it of phyisicias or lawyers (though, maybe we should).  The answer is not what’s important. What’s embedded in the question is.

Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, FAAN, Rudin Professor of Nursing

On February 23, 2011 CHMP will host the second event in our Film & New Media series.  MADE IN INDIA, a film by Rebecca Haimowitz and Vaishali Sinha, is about the journey of an infertile American couple, an Indian surrogate and the reproductive outsourcing business that brings them together. The film weaves together these personal stories within the context of a growing international industry and explores a complicated clash of families in crisis, reproductive technology, and choice from a global perspective.

The event honors the 55^th UN Commission on the Status of Women (February 22-March 4) and will be held at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. After the screening, the filmmakers, Dr. Carole Vance of Columbia University and CHMP Co-Director Barbara Glickstein will moderate a discussion about the issues the film raises, the media’s role in reporting the growing phenomena of outsourcing surrogacy and how we can advocate for the health and human rights of the women involved.

Screening Info (link to the event page):

MADE IN INDIA: screening & discussion

February 23, 2011 – 6pm

ROOSEVELT HOUSE AT HUNTER COLLEGE
47-49 East 65th Street (between Park & Madison)
Event is FREE, but please RSVP: CHMP@hunter.cuny.edu

Hannah Rosenzweig, MPH is a documentary filmmaker, producer and public health advocate. This is her second in a series of blog posts about food policy and the urban food movement in New York City.

“There are some who think that food is a fringe issue, one that doesn’t matter to average New Yorkers… There are those who say we can’t afford to talk about food when we’re still reeling from a recession. To that I say we can’t afford not to talk about food right now. “– New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, November 2010

Photo Credit/The New York City Council Christine C. Quinn, Speaker

On November 22, 2010, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn unveiled FoodWorks – a report with a set of policy goals she calls “A vision to improve NYC’s Food System.”  The project was presented to an audience of city government folks, food experts, activists, some business leaders, media, etc. at the Food and Finance High School in Manhattan. It was a lively event that included spirited speeches from a high school senior, a NY State farmer, the speaker herself and a few shout-outs from the audience demanding support for community gardens. FoodWorks has been hailed as the most comprehensive food report the city has ever seen.  It covers five keys areas including agricultural production, processing, distribution, consumption and post-consumption.  The 90 page, 59 point report is online and worth taking a look at.

I was particularly interested in the links she drew between the food system and economic growth.  Quinn offered concrete avenues for job creation and development – a smart way to show food isn’t just a fringe issue but central to the everyday workings of the city. One great example is salad greens in public schools.  Every year the city buys $300,000 worth of lettuce for school cafeterias.  All of it is imported from Maryland and California, even though farmers right here in New York grow the same greens.  Why?  Because before the greens are served in salad bars they must be “processed” i.e.: washed, cut and bagged.  It turns out NYC does not have a wash, cut and bag facility so lettuce must be driven or flown in. “Let’s get one!” Quinn says, “If you’ve driven through the Bronx lately, there are empty buildings. Make one into a wash, cut, bag facility that will ensure people in the Bronx can get jobs.” Of course, having a local facility will also support local farmers and reduce the pollution caused by importing greens from out-of-state.

Quinn also talked about the importance of connecting small businesses working in the food industry.  Damascus Bakery, an 80-year old pita company based in Brooklyn, could be buying onions and garlic for their pitas locally.  And both Damascus and their local suppliers could be selling their products at more corner stores throughout the city.  Quinn says it’s the city’s job to make connections between these business owners. She’s also focused on keeping growing businesses like Damascus working within city limits – not moving facilities elsewhere because of cheaper rent.

Perhaps the most important part of the report deals with the 1 million New Yorkers that struggle to put food on the table every day.  Right now, New Yorker City residents have to be fingerprinted in order to get food stamps.  This deterrent keeps thousands of people unable to buy enough food everyday.  It also means the city loses $54 million a year in federal benefits, funds that would strengthen the food-related economy.  Quinn called for an immediate end to this “archaic” policy.

Food is a hot political topic in New York City.  Besides Christine Quinn’s plan, Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer announced his FoodNYC program in February 2010.  Governor Cuomo issued a policy book on food during his campaign last year, calling for increasing agricultural production and improving access to healthy food.  Public Advocate Bill DiBlasio has prioritized increasing enrollment in food stamps.

What will it take for Speaker Quinn’s ideas to come to fruition? The first FoodWorks legislation could be brought to the Council floor this month. Quinn says realizing her policy goals will require strategic partnerships between other city agencies, the Mayor, businesses, the state and federal government and city residents. I’ll be keeping a close eye on how these ideas pan out over the coming year.

You can also watch Quinn’s presentation on the City Council’s youtube channel .

Health Bucks

A few months ago I started a video project exploring food policy programs in New York City.  Our news media is saturated with talk of healthy eating and diet-related disease – I was curious: what is happening in NY to address the problems with our food system and increase access to healthy, affordable food for city residents?  What are some of our local discussions and controversies?  In my next few blog posts I’ll share some of the people and projects (and policy initiatives) I’ve been profiling and talk about how it all adds up to a pretty vibrant and growing urban food movement.

There is much to be said about the debates and challenges surrounding anti-obesity initiatives. For example, a recent webinar: SNAP and Soda: whose business is it anyway? is worth watching. For this first post, however, I decided to share a story which gives plenty of cause for optimism: I’d like to introduce Fabienne and her cooking classes.

Fabienne

I met Fabienne one hot morning last summer in Corona, Queens, as she prepared to teach a nutrition lesson and cooking class at the local farmer’s market.  As she maneuvered through the market she told me: “I grew up in a family that was always food centered… and then my mother got sick, she had heart disease.  I saw how food had a big impact on this so I became interested in nutrition.”

Currently she works for the city health department’s Stellar Farmer’s Markets program.  The program is based at farmer’s markets throughout the city, primarily in neighborhoods with high rates of chronic disease, that are home to majority low-income residents or folks enrolled in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).  Stellar provides a hands-on way for people to see cooking demos, sample seasonal produce, and receive “Health Bucks” – vouchers they can use to buy fruits and vegetables at the market and support local farmers. Read the rest of this entry »