The Jacobs Family Pride Wellness Center Awarded LGBTQ+ Recognition

Nyack, N.Y., November 30, 2023 – During the 25th Annual World AIDS Day (WAD) event hosted by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) on November 30, The Jacobs Family Pride Wellness Center of Montefiore Nyack Hospital was presented with a Commissioner’s Special Recognition Award in the LGBTQ category for its ongoing work as the first LGBTQ+-focused medical center to bring affirming health care and services to the LGBTQ+ residents of Rockland County and the lower Hudson Valley.

To coincide with World AIDS Day on December 1, the NYSDOH hosted its eighth annual “Ending the Epidemic (ETE) Summit” and 25th WAD event at the Albany Capital Center in Albany, NY. This year’s event theme was “Family Reunion: Together We Adapt and Thrive,” highlighting the transformative efforts to help people living with, or impacted by, HIV, STIs and HCV. 

“This recognition award is a testament to the dedication and vision put forth around the creation and growth of The Jacobs Family Pride Wellness Center into such a unique, high quality and welcoming site for LGBTQ+ care,” said Barry S. Zingman, MD, M.D., attending physician at the Center and Medical Director of the AIDS Center at Montefiore Medical Center.  “As the only one of its kind in the Hudson Valley, the Center has engaged the LGBTQ+ community by eliminating health disparities with its accessible and inclusive health care to best reach all New Yorkers no matter where they live.”

Since its opening in November 2021, the JFPWC has partnered with the Montefiore AIDS Center, The Oval Center at Montefiore, and the Phyllis B. Frank Pride Center of Rockland County in Nyack, N.Y. to become a significant resource to the LGBTQ+ community in the lower Hudson Valley, who no longer have to make the long trek into New York City to access LGBTQ+-affirming healthcare services, including HIV preventative services such as PrEP/PEP, sexual health services such as STI testing and treatment and gender-affirming primary care. 

In only its second year of service, the JFPWC stands as a model of how healthcare services targeting the specific needs of the LGBTQ+ community can be delivered outside of major urban centers, in partnership with the local community. For more information, please visit www.montefiorenyack.org/pridewellnesscenter.