Senator Rivera Calls for Greater Asthma Awareness and Support for Legislation As Asthma Awareness Month Comes to a Close

  Senator Gustavo Rivera, the ranking member of the Senate's Health Committee, urges Bronxites to increase their asthma awareness as part of Asthma Awareness Month and urges the passage of legislation that can help prevent or minimize the harm caused by the disease.

"Asthma is a serious, but treatable health issue that affects over 1.1 million New Yorkers, including myself" said Senator Gustavo Rivera. "The lack of awareness surrounding this disease - and people's inability to recognize its causes and symptoms - leads thousands of New Yorkers to suffer unnecessary complications every year. We must work to increase awareness of the causes and effects of asthma and pass legislation that will help reduce the complications that develop from the disease."

Asthma causes approximately 301 deaths per year and 41,797 hospitalizations in New York State. It is also the leading cause of missed school days for children and workplace absences for adults.

Asthma is an even a greater problem in the outer boroughs. The Bronx has one of the highest rates of asthma in city.  For instance, nearly one-third (32.3 percent) of children who made asthma-related emergency room visits in 2010 were from the Bronx.

Asthma attacks can be caused by triggers such as cockroaches, mold, pet dander, dust, pollen, air pollution and, in particular, tobacco smoke. A study by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that exposure to secondhand smoke was associated with an increased risk of having three or more visits to a doctor or emergency room due to wheezing in the past year.

"Tobacco smoke is one of the most common asthma triggers in our society," said Senator Gustavo Rivera. " While we have implemented measure that have considerably reduced New Yorkers' consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke in the past, it is not enough to curb the great number of children and adults who suffer needlessly from asthma related illness." 

Legislation, such as the bill introduced and passed by Senator Rivera that banned smoking within 100 feet from all school entrances, can be effective in minimizing the public's exposure to suffering from an asthma attack.  According to a study published in Circulation, smoke-free laws quickly and dramatically have cut the number of people hospitalized for heart attacks, strokes and respiratory diseases. The study also found that hospitalization for respiratory disease, such as asthma, fell 24 percent after the implementation of smoke-free legislation.

"We need to continue to find ways to discourage unhealthy behaviors and to keep our youth from being exposed to harmful triggers," said Senator Gustavo Rivera. "This is one of the reasons why I continue to make reducing tobacco usage a legislative priority. It is also why I strongly support any effort, such as raising the minimum age to buy tobacco, that will reduce our youth's access to these products."

To support asthma awareness, Senator Rivera is encouraging Bronxities to attend the Asthma Resource Fair at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, 1650 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY on Thursday, May 30, 2013 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Attendees will be able to interact with health educators about their asthma and receive pertinent information about the disease's symptoms, triggers and treatments. Attendees will also have the opportunity to play asthma-related games and sign a pledge to control their asthma.

To avoid unnecessary asthma related complications, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene provides the following recommendations:

•          Encourage parents/caregivers to quit smoking.
•          Encourage parents/caregivers to talk with landlords about household           problems that may trigger asthma episodes.
•          Get regular care and know when to seek emergency care for your child.
•          Take your child to the doctor for regular asthma check-ups, even when no asthma symptoms are present.
•          Identify asthma triggers in the home and try to reduce or eliminate them.
•          Tell the school that your child has asthma and provide them with a completed Medication Administration Form from your child's doctor.
•          Promptly repair leaks, cracks, holes and ventilation problems.
•          Contain food and garbage so they don't become food for pests.
•          Use only safe pest control methods when needed.

For information about the Nicotine Patch and Gum Program or for help on how to quit smoking, New York City residents can call 311 or visit the following sites:

•          NYS Quitline: http://www.nysmokefree.com/
•          HHC QuitSmoking Clinics:  http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/html/services/smokingcessation.shtml
•          NYC Quits: https://a816-nycquits.nyc.gov/pages/homepage.aspx

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Senator Rivera Urges Passage of Tough Ethics Reform Package

Senator Gustavo Rivera joined his colleagues in the Senate Democratic Conference on Monday in unveiling a tough legislative ethics package that will serve as a step forward in enacting true ethics reform and restoring the public's trust. 

 

Senator Rivera urges immediate passage of the Senate Democrats' new ethics package. He also supports the Governor's ethics package, the New York Trust Act, which would increase penalties for bribery and public corruption.

"Recent events have made it obvious that we need stronger anti-corruption legislation. Every time that an elected official betrays the public's trust, it makes it less likely that members of our community will get involved or participate in their government," said Senator Gustavo Rivera. "While it is unfortunate that corruption is a problem that continues to plague our community, we must continue to fight to ensure that all New Yorkers are represented by elected officials that will serve in the best interest of their constituents. Passing the Senate Democratic Conference's ethics package will be an important first step in combating corruption"

As an elected official whose three predecessors violated the public's trust, Senator Rivera has experienced firsthand the consequences that develop in a community which has lost faith in the system.

The Senate Democrats' ethics package will:

• Retroactively strip pension benefits from any state or local official convicted of a felony involving a breach of public trust.

• Outlaw the use of campaign money for criminal defense.

• Strengthen the regulations regarding the use of campaign money.

• Require elected officials to post campaign donation information on their websites\

• Establish a public financing system for state campaigns.          

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Senator Gustavo Rivera Seeks Nominees for Veteran's Hall of Fame Honor

Senator Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx) invites local residents of the 33rd  State Senate district to nominate veterans from their community whose service on behalf of our nation and our community designates them as a possible inductee to the New York State Veteran's Hall of Fame.

 

The New York State Senate Veteran's Hall of Fame was created to honor and recognize outstanding veterans who have distinguished themselves both in military and civilian life. Their service to our nation deserves the special recognition that only a Hall of Fame can provide, as a fitting expression of our gratitude and admiration.  

"The Senate Veteran's Hall of Fame gives us the opportunity to not only pay tribute to all of those who serve, but also to recognize an individual whose sacrifice and service has helped make our nation and our community a better place to live," said Senator Gustavo Rivera.

The Senate will honor distinguished veterans throughout our state at a ceremony in Albany on May 21, 2013. Each honoree's photograph and biography will become part of a special on-line exhibit proclaiming the contributions of these exemplary New York veterans.

Last year, Senator Rivera inducted Latanga Blair into the Senate Veteran's Hall of Fame. Ms. Blair is a veteran who serves as a Veterans Affairs Volunteer at the James A. Peters Bronx VA Medical Center . Her efforts at the VA focus on informing female veterans of assistance and benefit programs they are entitled to receive.

Deadline for submissions is April 14, 2013. For nomination forms, please visit http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/gustavo-rivera/content/press_release  or call 718-933-2034 .

  

 

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz
32nd Senatorial District, Bronx County, New York 

It Does Not Make Sense


 

  Mayor Michael Bloomberg  wants  to dictate to us how much soda we should drink.  With this action Mayor Bloomberg confirmed what I wrote a few weeks ago on one of my “What You Should Know” columns, that some elected officials want to create in New York a Nanny State.

 

  For your information, in case you did not read it before I am including inserts of what I wrote before.

You should know that some Members of the New York State Legislature are pushing hard to prevent McDonald’s and certain restaurants from giving out toys to children when they receive their meals unless those meals meet certain standards.

 

  Senate Bill 6386, sponsored by Senator Gustavo Rivera, and Assembly Bill 7662, sponsored by Assembly Member Felix Ortiz, both Hispanic and Puerto Rican, are calling for a law to dictate which restaurants may or may not distribute toys or as they call them, “incentives,” to children, especially poor children in our communities, when their parents take them to McDonald’s or any other restaurant to purchase a meal.  Now Mayor Michael Bloomberg has join them in banning the sale and purchase of  any  bottle of sodas of more than 16 ounces.

 

  It does not make sense and it is disturbing to see these same elected officials fight tooth and nail to give a woman the right to kill an unborn baby, because according to them, it is a woman’s choice to do what they want with their bodies.   Michael Bloomberg, Gustavo, Felix and others have no problem in being pro-choice and giving a woman a right to murder an unborn baby, but they have problems and are willing to take away the right of the mother and father or child to eat whatever they want. 

 

  Don’t get me wrong, I believe that obesity is a problem and that people should be more careful with what they eat, but if people want to be fat and eat hamburgers or anything they want, it is their right to allow them to eat whatever they want. I think that it is a lot better to be fat than to terminate the life of an unborn, innocent baby. Does anyone believe that people are elected into office to regulate what food and drinks moms and dads can serve their children? 

 

  Do these same elected officials who fight for any woman to have a supposed right to choose to kill her unborn baby realize that they are way out of line to try to assume authority over moms by telling them what to give her child to eat or drink?

 

  When pro-lifers like me state the obvious that abortion affects two lives and that the fetus is a life, and that to crack their skulls with forceps or to use saline water to be evaporated, the pro-choice, pro-abortion politicians argue back with that old cliché “my body, my choice”. I’m pretty sure that Mayor Bloomberg, Assembly Member Ortiz and Senator Rivera would stand by their side.  How can those same  officials think they have the right to tell moms how they should feed their children or what to drink?

 

  Parents struggle to do what’s best for their children, and at least so far, in this country parents are not dictated to by local elected officials about how to feed their children.  If they want to cook at home, they can. If they want to go out and eat and drink 32 ounces of soda, they can.

You should know that there are more important issues before us in the State and City of New York, and we sure don’t need Mayor Bloomberg, Senator Rivera, Assembly Member Ortiz and others  to divert our attention by creating a Nanny State.

 

I am Senator Reverend Rubén Díaz and this is what you should know.
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State Senator Rivera & Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. Launch Second Year of Bronx CAN Health Initiative

  

State Senator Gustavo Rivera  and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., together with Montefiore Medical Center and other community health partners will launch the second year of the Bronx CAN Health Initiative on June 2nd at St. James Park. The Bronx CAN Health Initiative was launched in response to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's study that showed the Bronx as the unhealthiest county in the state of New York. This initiative will tackle issues of obesity, nutrition, exercise and access to preventative health in the Bronx. The month of June and the June 2nd launch on the initiative will be focused on physical fitness and exercise.

This event is the first in a series of Bronx CAN Health fairs. All events are free and open to the public. 

WHO: Senator Gustavo Rivera, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Montefiore Medical Center and other community partners 

  

WHAT: Launch of the Second Annual Bronx CAN Health Initiative

  

WHERE:  St. James Park- 2530 Jerome Ave Bronx NY 10468

  

WHEN: Saturday, June 2nd 2012 1:30-3:30 PM

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