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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Veronica Smith, Senior Director of Health Policy and Government Affairs at Public Health Solutions
6:11:27
ยท
3 min
Veronica Smith from Public Health Solutions presented testimony requesting funding for three initiatives: a healthcare community partnerships capacity building program, a maternal and child health program, and a healthcare SNAP and cash assistance program.
- Requested $500,000 for a capacity building initiative focused on patient-centered contraceptive care
- Asked for $225,000 to support the New York City Breastfeeding Warm Line
- Requested $150,000 for the Benefits Bridge program to assist linguistically diverse communities with benefits enrollment and support
Veronica Smith
6:11:27
Can everyone hear me?
6:11:28
Good afternoon, everybody.
6:11:30
My name is Veronica Smith.
6:11:31
I am the senior director of health policy and government affairs at Public Health Solutions, the largest public health nonprofit in New York City.
6:11:38
For more than sixty five years, PHS has improved health outcomes and helped communities thrive by providing services directly to underserved families, by supporting community based organizations through our longstanding public private partnerships, and bridging the gap between health care and community service.
6:11:53
In 2024, we provided direct services to more than 135,000 New Yorkers by increasing access to nutritious food, improving access to healthcare and promoting healthy living.
6:12:05
I will go over a brief overview of the three discretionary funding initiatives that we would like to respectfully request funding for.
6:12:14
The first one, PHS is committed to removing silos between health care and community services and building the capacity of care providers to ensure that their patients are seamlessly connected to resources in the community.
6:12:26
Fiscal year twenty six City Council funding will support the health care community partnerships capacity building program in developing a capacity building initiative, a patient centered contraceptive care in a challenging landscape to improve the capacity of providers and clinic staff at up to eight New York City based healthcare facilities to provide sexual reproductive justice informed patient centered contraception care.
6:12:53
The proposed twelve month capacity building initiative aims to increase access to high quality patient centered contraceptive services informed by an SRJ framework at health care clinics throughout New York City.
6:13:06
We respectfully request that Public Health Solutions respectfully request $500,000 from the dedicated contraception fund to support this capacity building program.
6:13:18
Next, maternal and child health.
6:13:21
Our maternal and child health team supports thousands of pregnant and newly parenting New Yorkers to achieve healthy pregnancies and births.
6:13:28
Over the twelve month period, the New York City Breastfeeding Warm Line was developed at the height of the COVID-nineteen pandemic to provide free virtual breastfeeding support, particularly to underserved families and families of color who experience systemic barriers to care and as a unique service in New York City filling an important gap to support new parents in troubleshooting early infant feeding challenges.
6:13:52
We are asking for $225,000 for the New York City Breastfeeding Warn Line.
6:13:56
And finally, if you'll let me finish, healthcare SNAP and cash assistance.
6:14:01
The City Council's Benefits Bridge program supported by Access Health and support our seniors initiative focuses on medically underserved areas.
6:14:09
The bridge program will amplify its project to ensure cultural competency of information and using benefits and services in the community, including migrants and asylum seekers by providing one on one sessions to people who have just recently enrolled in a benefits program, I.
6:14:23
E.
6:14:23
SNAP, Medicaid, or WIC.
6:14:25
This year, for fiscal year twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six, we are asking the City Council to respectfully fund this program for $150,000 to continue serving linguistically diverse communities and providing them the one on one care that they need.
High School Senior
6:14:42
Thank you.