"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." - Helen Keller |
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Dear Friends of CIHF,
We hope you and your family are well. This has been a beautiful autumn and we are grateful that the Cornell community has largely remained healthy.
The Institute for Healthy Futures has been active and engaged. In July, Mardelle Shepley, Professor and Department Chair for Design + Environmental Analysis (DEA), stepped in as the Executive Director for CIHF. This fall we welcomed our newest Associate Director, Nicolas Ziebarth, Associate Professor for Policy Analysis and Management, and SLOAN. Professor Heather Kolakowski from The Hotel School and SC Johnson College of Business will continue in her position as CIHF Associate Director ensuring that we are in good hands.
The CIHF Fall Webinar, "Thriving in Isolation: Health and Human Connection" will be on October 23 at 1:00pm (EDT). We hope you will be able to join us. Please see below for more information!
The Cornell community has faced many challenges this fall semester; we are fortunate that the robust testing program, social distancing protocols, and the relative isolation of the Ithaca campus have allowed the hybrid model of instruction to continue for CU students. However, as we move into fall and towards winter, we are mindful that this continues to be a difficult year with many families grieving and struggling. We are thinking of our CIHF community and beyond, with the continued goal that the work we do will have a positive future impact for our society.
Thank you, as ever, to our CIHF community for your continued support.
CIHF Leadership Team
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Improving service excellence in healthcare, senior living, and wellness related organizations
Teaching Research Engagement Membership
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Thank you, Mardelle!
Announcing Our New CIHF Executive Director,
Mardelle Shepley
Dr. Mardelle McCuskey Shepley, B.A., M.Arch., M.A., D.Arch., is a professor at Cornell University and chair of the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis. She was an Associate Director in the Cornell Institute for Health Futures, currently stepping in as Executive Director. Previously she served a professor at Texas A&M University (TAMU) and was director of the TAMU Center for Health Systems & Design from 2004-2014. Mardelle is a fellow in the American Institute of Architects and the American College of Healthcare Architects. She is LEED and EDAC certified.
Thank you, Mardelle, for expanding your role at CIHF and ensuring the continuation of our mission!
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Welcome, Nicolas!
Our Newest CIHF Associate Director, Nicolas Ziebarth
Professor Ziebarth is an economist whose research focuses on insurance markets and health risks. Dr. Ziebarth studies the interaction of (social) insurance systems with labor markets and population health. In particular, he is an international expert on the economics of sick leave.
Another focus of his work is the driving forces and implications of risky health behavior such as smoking, drinking, or overeating. Welcome Professor Ziebarth to CIHF!
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Nikki Cerra, CIHF Program Manager,
Earns 2020 CHE Staff Recognition Award
We are pleased to announce that Nikki Cerra was one of 8 staff nominated for the Cornell Human Ecology Staff Recognition Award for her dedication and willingness to go above and beyond for CIHF. In the past year we faced multiple challenges. Nikki was invaluable during these changes and transitions. She enabled us to continue to operate smoothly and effectively in spite of the complications associated with moving our activities online.
Nikki has fostered a wonderfully positive team environment for CIHF, setting a new standard for our community. We truly appreciate all her hard work.
Congratulations, Nikki!
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CIHF Associate Director, Nicolas Ziebarth,
and a Timely NIH Grant Proposal:
Predictors of Covid 19 Spread in Nursing Homes
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Nicolas Ziebarth has most recently applied for an NIH grant to study the predictors of Covid 19 spread in nursing homes.
The efficacy of Professor Ziebarth's ongoing research is particularly significant during this global pandemic, building upon the work featured in his forthcoming paper in Health Affairs, "COVID-19 Emergency Sick Leave Has Helped to Flatten the Curve." For more on this work, click here: Emergency Sick Leave.
We look forward to learning more from Nicolas' findings and sharing with our CIHF community!
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New research by Cornell Professor of Engineering, Max Zhang
Near- and long-term SARS-CoV-2 transmission reduction strategies to prevent COVID-19 among health care professionals
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An illustration of simulated exhaled droplets in an indoor environment. Colors represent droplet sizes from ~ 1 mm (blue) to ~60 mm (red).
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While millions worldwide work from home to minimize transmission of SARS-CoV-2, health care and other essential workers must continue to maintain and operate facilities such as clinics, hospitals, as well as long term care and other institutional facilities, putting themselves at high risk from COVID-19. In the coming years, the safety of this critical workforce must be ensured. Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability has recently funded an Academic Venture Fund (AVF) project, titled, “Near- and long-term SARS-CoV-2 transmission reduction strategies to prevent COVID-19 among health care professionals”.
This is an integrated, multiscale monitoring and modeling study to develop near-term and long-term mitigation strategies in medical facilities to protect the safety of healthcare workers. In the near term, the research team will explore how SARS-CoV-2 may spread via mechanical ventilation systems to saturate unexpected surfaces (e.g., in staff break rooms). This study will provide critical safety information to hospital facilities management, reveal how room design features affect virus transmission, and develop targeted social distancing guidelines for different areas. In the long term, the team will elucidate how the control strategies of HVAC systems, room design features and human movement in hospital settings can be optimized to minimize infectious disease transmission. While the current work focuses on hospitals, the methodology developed can be applied to other built environments such as nursing homes. The team aims at providing scientific basis for designing future healthcare facilities.
Led by Dr. Max Zhang of Cornell Engineering (energy and environmental systems), the interdisciplinary research team consist of Dr. Nathaniel Hupert of Weill Cornell Medicine (epidemiology and healthcare policy), Dr. Luis Schang of Veterinary Medicine (virology), Dr. Harjot Singh of WCM (infectious diseases and epidemiology), Dr. Brenna Farmer of WCM (emergency medicine) and Dr. Todd Cowen of Cornell Engineering (environmental fluid mechanics). The key collaborators include Ms. Lauren Stoerger, Director of Nursing - Emergency, Critical Care & Medical/Surgery Services at NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP) Lower Manhattan Hospital, Dr. Sarah Clock, Infection Control Specialist at NYP, Mr. Timothy Smyth, Director of Facilities Operations at NYP and Dr. Lisa Saiman of Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Bo Yang, post-doctoral associate, PhD students Khaled Hashad and Alfredo Rodriguez and undergraduate students Alex Coy and Ben Xing of Cornell Engineering are performing computer simulations and IoT-based monitoring.
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CIHF Webinar
Thriving in Isolation: Health and Human Connection
Friday, October 23, 2020
1:00pm - 3:00pm (EDT)
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The pandemic has created a “new normal” of remote living, with many of us forced to shift from in-person interactions to online and virtual experiences. This change has provoked heightened feelings of loneliness, disengagement, and social isolation – challenges that disproportionately affect vulnerable and marginalized communities. As we navigate through this transition, we can still create equitable and inclusive spaces, both at work and at home, through thoughtfulness and intentional action.
Led by Heather Kolakowski and sponsored by the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures in collaboration with the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, this session will highlight academic research and industry practices to deepen the understanding of diverse employee needs and strategies for boosting our capacities to thrive in isolation.
Speakers include:
LaWanda H. Cook, Senior Extension Associate, Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability
Heather Kolakowski, Associate Director, Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures
Anthony Ong, Professor, College of Human Ecology
Erin Peavey, Architect and Design Researcher, Vice President, HKS Architects
Matt Saleh, Research Associate, Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability
Kristina Workman, Assistant Professor, School of Hotel Administration
Join this live interactive panel event on utilizing health, hospitality, and design to reframe human connection, share our humanity, and promote inclusion.
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Open to current CIHF Advisory Board Members and hosted by CIHF Directors: Mardelle Shepley, Heather Kolakowski, and Nicolas Ziebarth. This interactive meeting will center on updating the Board on CIHF goals as well as future planning via community exchange.
Guests include: current CIHF minor students and representatives from the CUHF Graduate Club.
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CIHF Virtual Open House
September 18, 2020
2:00pm - 3:00pm (EDT)
Lately, we have been consistently reminded, in various ways, of how much our lives are connected to the lives of others. Now, perhaps more than ever, the work within the crossroads of where health, hospitality and design converge is deeply needed.
The Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures and the Department of Design + Environmental Analysis offers a minor in Healthy Futures open to all undergraduate students. This minor provides a high caliber, transdisciplinary education in the fields of health, hospitality, and design.
Interested in learning more about this minor? Please join us for our Virtual Open House on Friday, September 18th from 2pm to 3pm. A brief talk will be given, outlining the benefits of the minor, followed by a Q&A from our guest panel: CIHF Director, Professor Heather Kolakowski, and current students enrolled in the minor, Peyton Fort & Abirami Dandapani.
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Have you attended a fascinating virtual conference? Do you know of any webinars coming up that our community would be interested in? Published a paper? Earned a research grant?
If you have news to share - and we hope you do! - please email Ellie Mendoza at ev227@cornell.edu.
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At CIHF we are dedicated to building and expanding our community. Social Media, and Facebook in particular, is an opportunity to reach audiences that may not come across the organization otherwise.
To follow the Institute on FB click here:
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CIHF affiliates with Faculty Fellows from various Cornell colleges and departments, Industry Scholars from corporations and nonprofits, and Visiting Scholars and Academic Scholars from other academic institutions. Affiliates participate in collaborative activities, lead research or curriculum projects, provide feedback on strategic priorities, and create industry-focused deliverables that link hospitality, health, and design. |
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Corporate Membership
Composed of senior-level leaders in industry from around the globe, Advisory Board members are representatives from Corporate Members. This diverse network collaborates with CIHF academics on projects and initiatives with a focus on integrating the fields of hospitality, health management, policy, and design.
Advisory Board members participate in bi-annual meetings and conferences, as guest lecturers, speakers, and mentors to students, and as collaborators with Cornell faculty, researchers, and student groups. Membership provides a platform for industry professionals to connect, build lasting relationships, and collaborate across academia and business.
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Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures | 3250 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall | Ithaca, NY 14850
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