New York Academy of Medicine

Focus

The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) has a couple of different COVID-19 initiatives.  One of the major ones is What Can I Do?  Another is Share Your COVID-19 Story.   What Can I Do? focuses on gathering information on different topics related to COVID-19 viewed  through a Health Equity lens.  Share Your COVID-19 Story is an attempt to gather stories from the NYAM community (Fellows and Members and NYAM staff) to document their experience of the pandemic.  The project may expand more broadly into our East Harlem Community.  We also have a number of other initiatives that have been gathered together on our website here: https://www.nyam.org/selected-work/covid-19-initiatives/

 History

What Can I Do ? was launched by our Communications Department in the spring as a temporary website (www.whatcanido.nyc) of resources for action and learning curated through a health equity lens launched March 2020. What Can I Do? effort includes ongoing website updates with social media support and weekly themed newsletters. To date, themed releases have included: racism, violence and health; LGBTQ+ health, health equity; older adults; mental health; housing; child health; maternal health; food access; East Harlem; maternal health; health equity.

 Share Your COVID-19 Story was launched in the fall by the Library and is still in development.  Many institutions are documenting COVID-19 in New York very broadly, and we were looking for a way to document the experiences of our own community, many of whom are medical professionals.

 Collection

Right now Share Your COVID-19 Story contains a variety of items, including poetry and reminiscences, etc.  We hope to add oral histories in the future.

Form of Collection

What Can I Do? consists of links.

Share Your COVID-19 Story consists of items that have been uploaded digitally (and is meant to be a digital repository).

 Emphasis

What Can I Do? is devoted to examining COVID through a health equity lens.  Share Your COVID-19 Story is focused on our own Fellows, Members and staff, but may expand to include our East Harlem neighborhood partners.

 Time Period

Our projects continue into the present.

 Public Access

What Can I Do? is online and can be found here: https://www.nyam.org/what-can-i-do/   It is, though, meant to be a temporary resource, not a permanent one.

 Share Your COVID-19 Story will be an online digital collection but does not have a public online presence yet.

 For all of NYAM’s COVID-19 initiatives, go here: https://www.nyam.org/selected-work/covid-19-initiatives/

 Director

The New York Academy of Medicine

 Contact Person

For the Library’s Share Your COVID-19 Story:

Paul Theerman, Library Director

Email: ptheerman@nyam.org

Telephone number: 212-822-7350

Website: https://www.nyam.org/library/connect/share-your-covid-19-story/ (For submissions, no outward facing page yet.)

 For other COVID-19 initiatives, the contact person would be our Marketing & Communications office:

Gina Ravosa

Email: gravosa@nyam.org

Telephone number: 212-822-7285