by Cara Amore
For More Information and to Attend Luncheon Contact:
Cara Amore
Director of Marketing/Outreach
718-349-9100 ext. 116
[email protected]
On Wednesday, October 26, 2011, Choices Women’s Medical Center will announce its upcoming expansion to Jamaica, Queens and celebrate its 40th Anniversary at a luncheon at O Lavrador Restaurant in Jamaica. The luncheon will feature remarks from New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn; Community Healthcare Network CEO Catherine Abate; Mitchell Cornett, Jamaica Hospital Administrator; Yvonne Reddick, District Manager CB 12; and Peter Kulka, KJL Realty Company Vice President.
Founded in 1971 by Merle Hoffman, Choices is a New York State licensed outpatient medical facility, recently awarded the highest accreditation by the American Association of Ambulatory Health Care. For over 40 years Choices has provided comprehensive reproductive health care, including family planning, abortion and prenatal services to women and girls of all ages, ethnicities and sexual orientations.
An abiding core of Choices’ mission is a commitment to serving the needs of the under-insured, under-served and disenfranchised. As the attacks on women’s health and lives escalate it, is has become more critical for providers to step up and meet the ever growing needs of this population,†Hoffman stated.
All New Yorkers deserve access to quality, affordable health care,” said Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. Choices Women’s Medical Center’s expansion to Jamaica will bring vital reproductive health care services to one of the city’s most underserved populations. Today is a great day for this community, and I congratulate Choices Medical and its partners for their efforts towards closing the ‘health-gap’ that affects so many New Yorkers.
According to the 2006 New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Profile, “Take Care Jamaica”, Jamaica ranks below average (in the bottom 10 of 41 NYC neighborhoods surveyed) for the indicator “Having a Healthy Baby” because of two critical factors:
The greater likelihood that mothers in Jamaica are more likely to receive late or no prenatal care which impacts negatively on the health of both mother and baby.
The high birth rate to teenage mothers (15-19 years) in Jamaica, 35 percent higher than Queens overall.
As a long time leader in state-of-the-art women’s health care, Choices Women’s Medical Center is well positioned and qualified to address both these important health issues. We need to be where we are most needed, said Merle Hoffman, Choices’ President and Founder.
According to Catherine Abate, CEO of Community Healthcare Network, “In light of our organization’s roots in women’s health and our strong history of collaboration with Choices Women’s Medical Center, we are delighted to learn of their impending expansion to Jamaica, Queens, an area where we are also growing our presence. I hope that in the future we are able to further strengthen our partnership to achieve our shared mission of improving women’s health and access to family planning.”
Merle Hoffman is the author of the upcoming memoir, Intimate Wars: The Life and Times of the Woman Who Brought Abortion from the Back Alley to the Boardroom (intimatewars.com), due for release in January 2012 and published by Feminist Press. She is also the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of On The Issues Magazine, a feminist magazine of independent critical thinking (ontheissuesmagazine.com).
For more information on all of Choices’ services, see choicesmedical.com.
Luncheon Information:
Wednesday, Oct. 26, 12-3 p.m.
O Lavrador Restaurant
138-40 101st Avenue, Jamaica, Queens
RSVP:
Cara Amore
Director of Marketing/Outreach
718-349-9100 ext. 116
[email protected]