CIR’s Commitment to Community Health
Out of the Hospital, Into the Community
Through the Family Health Challenge (FHC), CIR doctors work in partnership with local schools to help children and their families to make healthier decisions.
With generous support from the Patient Care Trust Fund, a pivotal resource established through union negotiations to foster resident-led initiatives and projects, FHC was developed and implemented in public schools throughout NYC.
For doctors:
For schools:
Coming to a City Near You!
Over 1,000 CIR resident physicians and med students have participated in FHC since its inception, impacting countless students and families. Learn more.
Led by CIR Doctors
CIR’s Family Health Challenge (FHC) is a health and wellness program delivered by CIR doctors. FHC helps children ages 7-11 improve their relationship with food by giving them knowledge and tools about nutrition and movement while empowering them to make small, impactful changes every day.
Next Session: Fall 2026
Interested in participating?
Interested in participating in CIR’s FHC this Fall and have never done it before?
Look out for emails from CIR’s Community relations and engagement department.
“When I first did FHC I thought it was really fun. I remember it reminded me of when I used to volunteer when I was in medical school, and even before medical school, it reminded me why I like people. It was refreshing.”
Dr. Corielle Caldwell, CIR alum
The Family Health Challenge Turns 12!
Research Findings:
In 2016 and 2022, with generous funding provided by the Patient Care Trust Fund (PCTF), CIR’s Community Relations and Engagement Department partnered with two academic institutions to research the impact of CIR’s Family Health Challenge (FHC) on both participating resident physicians and students.
The Cornell report looks at the impact on students’ behavior and attitudes toward nutrition and exercise using data collected by CIR from Fall 2014 through Spring 2021, minus the 2020 year.
Identifying whole grain food and using the hand as a tool for measurement were the two indicators that showed the most positive change when comparing pre and post-tests. The difference was an increase of 36% for identifying whole grain food and 25% for using your hand to measure food.
In CIR’s analysis of the data, these two indicators always show very big positive changes.
“It helped me rethink how to work with patients for a more preventive approach.”
Rutgers Report Respondent
The Rutgers report looked qualitatively at resident physician values and program benefits, impact on career and practice, and assessed the programmatic elements of FHC.
Respondents believe that FHC allows them to serve their community effectively: they strongly agree that they “make a difference through FHC” and that FHC “offers a valuable new way to connect to their communities.”
FHC Through The Years:
2023: Expansion to DC
- BX: PS 18, BLES, and our first Manhattan school PS 30.
- FHC expands to Raymond Elementary School in DC.
- Fall 2023 return to full in-person programming.
2020-22: Going Virtual
- 2022: Hybrid virtual and in-person sessions PS 196, PS 52, PS 14, PS 18, BLES | First time residents physicians from outside NYC participated in virtual sessions.
- 2021: Virtual FHC runs at PS 14, BLES, PS 59.
- 2020: The COVID-19 pandemic shutters schools and FHC is halted until the fall | A virtual version of the program is created and implemented at PS 14, PS 52, and PS 196.
2019: Expansion to Queens
- CIR members at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital organized to bring FHC to Queens.
- FHC expands to Queens to PS 52.
- BX: PS 18, PS 14.
- BK: PS 59, PS 196.
2016-18: NYC Schools Added
- 2018: BX: PS 18, PS 14 | BK: PS 184, BLES, PS 196.
- 2017: BK: PS 310, Brooklyn Landmark Elementary School (BLES), PS 184, PS 196, PS 59 | BX: PS 18, PS 14.
- 2016: FHC runs in BK at PS 184, PS 310, PS 196, and PS 59 and in the Bronx at PS 18, the MARC Academy, PS 83, and MMFC.
2015: Expansion to Brooklyn
- CIR members in Brooklyn organized to bring FHC to BK.
- FHC expands to Brooklyn to IS 220.
- FHC runs at PS 18, the MARC Academy, and Davidson Community Center in the Bronx.
2014: Union Partnership
- CIR partners with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) to bring FHC into more public elementary schools through their United Community Schools nonprofit. The program is brought to PS 83 in the Bronx and again at MMFC.
2013: FHC Launches
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine joins CIR and MMFC to develop a pilot program of FHC including a structured 8-week curriculum designed to address childhood obesity. Evidence-based measures were included in the weekly lessons along with activities to reinforce the lessons. An evaluation tool was developed to measure the impact of the program on students.
- In the Fall 2013, FHC was launched at the MMFC during their after-school program and at PS 20, an elementary school in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx in the 2nd grade.
- Doctors from CIR volunteered their time to participate in the program at both sites for 8 consecutive weeks.
2012: Preliminary Program
- The Healthy Bronx Initiative Advisory Board was created to bring CIR members in Bronx hospitals together with community leaders to discuss a collaborative and mutually beneficial approach to addressing health disparities.
- CIR formerly partners with the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center (MMFC) – a community organization providing a multitude of services to families in the Crotona/Tremont section of the Bronx – on the Family Health Challenge (FHC).
- The preliminary version of FHC was designed by youth and staff at MMFC as a resource to provide education and support for a “Zero-tolerance to Crappy Food” policy implemented at MMFC.
- CIR provided additional resources and research to improve FHC.
- Doctors from CIR would visit MMFC sporadically to talk to children at MMFC about FHC.
2011: Initiative in the Bronx
- Healthy Bronx Initiative is formed in response to local efforts aimed at addressing the health outcomes and factors identified and ranked on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s County Health Rankings, listing the Bronx as the unhealthiest county in NYS.
- CIR members in the Bronx begin to meet and discuss their roles as physicians in the labor movement and community health.
“I think it’s essential for residents to be involved [in FHC] because, you’re going to deal with all kinds of patients, and our goal is to change the information from things we learn in textbooks into things that people can actually use. I found that this is one of those avenues that you can easily change information, kids understand it, and you can see the changes in the community just by giving them this information. I had children in there telling me that they talk to their family members about better eating habits, not listening to ads, etc. Just being exposed to [this information], I know these kids will do a ton better and that makes me feel better as a resident.”
Dr. Italo Brown, CIR alum
