Domains of Health

Youth Development

Compass Program

Compass is a comprehensive program and supportive, welcoming and nonjudgmental space for all genders. Our services include:

  • Comprehensive and individualized needs assessment
  • Mental health counseling
  • Family support
  • Collaboration with schools and other organizations
  • Sexual and reproductive health counseling

Key Accomplishments & Outcomes (2024)

  • Weill Cornell Medicine: Hosted two college student summer interns to create resource guides for parents; hosted a visiting professor to deliver department Grand Rounds and participate in the annual program retreat; participated on the NewYork-Presbyterian Pride month panel; offered monthly parent support groups and individual parent coaching sessions; build a library of books for young children and parent guides for caregivers from private donations; worked with department advocacy teams on initiatives that support youth.
  • Columbia University: Enhancing patient accessibility through increased insurance network coverage; studying how bone health is affected during peak growth; increasing educational opportunities for residents; working with School-Based Health Center providers about navigating difficult conversations; created a suicide screening simulation for pediatric residents.

Lang Youth Medical Program

The Lang Youth Medical Program is a six-year enrichment program designed to inspire and motivate underserved youth from the Washington Heights and Inwood communities who are interested in the health sciences. From grades 7-12, students receive hands-on learning and mentorship at a world-class academic medical center, as well as support to prepare for college. Participants meet on Saturdays during the school year and in July during the summers.

Key Accomplishments & Outcomes, 2023-24

Received

139

applications

from 6th graders across 22 schools in Community School District 6

Supported the 2024 8th-grade cohort with their high school applications

64%

of whom received a spot in one of their top 3 high schools

Graduated

25

from the program

80%

off attendees from District 6 schools at the annual Northern Manhattan High School Fair

  • Had the first Internship Match Day, where students received a letter about their summer internship placements
  • Partnered with Turn2Us to facilitate a student-led mentorship program for 4th & 5th-grade students at PS 115 in 2023
  • Created avenues for health career exposure and interaction through three new partnerships
  • Launched the Program in Health Exploration and Learning (HEAL) in 2024 to foster students’ curiosity in health care and public health

A Future Nurse Charts Her Path

“Alex” joined the Lang Youth Medical Program to explore her dream of becoming a nurse. She completed internships at the hospital’s Clinical Nutrition, Otolaryngology, and Oncology departments. She is also a member of the Uptown Hub, where she published her writing through the Uptown Stories writing group. In recognition of her commitment to her community and her academic excellence, she received a Health Equity Scholarship from the Division of Community and Population Health, in partnership with the Dalio Center for Health Justice. With the support of this award, “Alex” is now in college, where she is studying to become a neonatal intensive care unit nurse.

NYPeers Wellness Educator Program

The NYPeers Wellness Educator Program is a skills-based adolescent health internship whose mission is to train teen peer educators in the core principles of health communication and education. The program empowers teens to design and conduct health promotion activities in their school communities under the supervision of their campus Health Educators.

This program aims to engage students at School-Based Health Center (SBHC)-served schools to become advisors to their SBHCs, care ambassadors, and teen health champions. Peers learn principles and techniques of foundational behavior change communication and social marketing. They participate in skills-based workshops delivered by SBHC medical, mental health, and health education staff addressing a range of teen health topics. Peers collaboratively respond to key teen health needs through relevant and impactful health promotion, opportunities to connect to care, and teen-friendly services and outreach.

Key Accomplishments & Outcomes, 2023-24

3,000+

youth engaged by Peers-supported in-person health promotion activities

950

youth engaged in Healthy Teens online programming

on gratitude, self-care, sleep, and physical activity in 2023

17

Peer-led workshops were delivered to youth programs

Peers assisted in the delivery of a comprehensive classroom curriculum to

1,800

8th and 9th graders

  • Launched the first cohort of summer captains in 2023 with four veteran Peers who worked alongside staff to plan and deliver summer training, facilitate or co-facilitate activities and workshops, and co-facilitate external workshops for fellow youth programs
  • Peers and program staff designed a new evaluation tool to assess personal development over the course of the program, in addition to existing assessments

Finding Her Voice

“Nancy” felt disconnected and isolated from her fellow teens during the pandemic. Even after returning to school in person, she struggled to come out of her shell and talk with other students, feeling nervous and lacking confidence. She applied for the NYPeers Wellness Educator Program because she believed it would help strengthen her public speaking skills and allow her to engage with other young people. As a Peer, Nancy actively participated in workshops and youth-led health promotion activities, which gave her the space and confidence to connect with other young people. She realized that by sharing her voice, she could make an impact and help others who were struggling, too. Nancy excelled in her role as a Peer, ultimately taking on greater leadership responsibilities in her second year as one of our inaugural cohort of Summer Captains. She became a trusted resource for new Peers, offering them guidance and support while fostering growth—much as she had experienced herself.

School-Based Health Center Program

The School-Based Health Center (SBHC) strives to increase health justice in our communities and support the healthy transition from childhood and adolescence into young adulthood. SBHC provides school-based access to medical and mental health care, targeted health education, positive youth development, and school and family engagement.

Program Goals

Engage students as NYPeers Wellness Educators to help educate their peers, advise their SBHCs, and act as ambassadors to care

Deliver adolescent-friendly medical and mental health care in a safe and welcoming environment to students across seven public school campuses in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx

Deliver a comprehensive evidence-based sexual and reproductive health curriculum to 8th and 9th graders

Conduct health and wellness promotion activities including tabling, fairs, events, workshops, awareness campaigns, and online “Healthy Teens” activities

Provide confidential sexual and reproductive health care and health education

Key Accomplishments & Outcomes, 2023-24

Reached over

14,000

students

Nearly

80%

of students enrolled in their SBHC

2,400

patients immunized

5,600+

students engaged by in-person health promotion activities

conducted by program staff and NYPeers

30K+

medical, mental health, and dental visits

69 cycles of comprehensive evidence-based sexual and reproductive health curriculum delivered to

1,650+

8th and 9th grade students

33

multidisciplinary NYPeers summer training workshops delivered by SBHC staff

Program staff developed and delivered a comprehensive 6-session mental health classroom curriculum to

370

high school students across our campuses

DJ's Story

DJ is a 15-year-old high school student who had arrived in the U.S. after fleeing his home country under traumatic circumstances. School staff brought him to the SBHC when they learned he was homeless—sleeping on the subway—and was an unaccompanied minor. DJ’s documents inaccurately said he was 19, so none of the systems in place for minors wanted to help him. The social worker quickly went into case management mode. DJ received a comprehensive physical exam at the SBHC, which led to additional medical services at NewYork-Presbyterian that helped confirm his chronological age and enabled him to get services for minors. Today DJ is being fostered by a school staff member and is doing relatively well. The school has praised the commitment to care and ease of access demonstrated by SBHC and school staff.

Summer Youth Experience

The NewYork-Presbyterian Summer Youth Experience is a six-week internship designed to introduce young adults ages 14-24 to career opportunities in health care and public health in a world-class healthcare system. Participants include family members of NYP employees and young adults from NYP’s youth development programs and community-based organizations. In addition to their employment, they participate in a professional development series focusing on topics such as resume writing, networking, and communication etiquette.

Key Accomplishments & Outcomes, 2023-24

264

participants in 2023

800+

referrals received by SYE, Talent Acquisition, and HR Connects

600

backpacks and school supplies distributed to three community-based organizations for a Back-to-School Backpack event in 2024

The Uptown Hub

Serving New York City youth and young adults ages 14–24, the Uptown Hub emboldens young people by providing access to culturally affirming and holistic services and nurturing self-advocacy and self-sufficiency.

Program Goals

Decrease idle time, risky behaviors, and justice system involvement

Develop a community that accelerates employment readiness, educational support, wellness, creative youth development, and recreational activities

Expand the collective impact of youth-serving agencies and increase community awareness of available services

Enhance mental physical and mental health

Key Accomplishments & Outcomes, 2023-24

1,300

youth enrolled since the program's inception

New Hub Advocate added in 2023, enabling us to work with as many as

225

actively engaged young people at any given time

  • Re-launched in-person "Learn-Try-Apply" Hub summer internship in 2023, increasing the number of young people in the hospital's Summer Youth Experience internship
  • Presented the Hub model at a New York State Office of Mental Health 2023 conference
  • Added part-time Medical Direction and another psychologist and psychology manager, eliminating a waitlist for access to mental health services for 2024
  • Recipient of New York's "What's Great in Our State" award in 2024 for outstanding organization/community group working in youth mental health

Jack's Journey

"Jack" was a young person engaged in mental health treatment at NewYork-Presbyterian. He was aging out of pediatric services and were referred to the Hub for wrap-around services. Jack suffers from extreme social anxiety and had received all of his treatment virtually. His Hub Advocate started working with him virtually to ease the transition to our program, helping him attend meetings in person. He enrolled Jack in the Hub's Learn-Try-Apply summer internship program, where Jack attended workshops, trainings, and teambuilding exercises for six weeks. Jack did not miss a single day and made a group of friends along the way. He now regularly attends programming and socializes with his friends and other Hub members.

Up next

Chronic disease prevention & management