For Diabetes Awareness Month, Two Patients Shares How the Lifestyle Medicine Program Improved Their Diabetes

For Diabetes Awareness Month, Two Patients Shares How the Lifestyle Medicine Program Improved Their Diabetes

Nov 20, 2025

New York, NY – As part of Diabetes Awareness Month,NYC Health + Hospitals today shared the story of two patients who improved their diabetes through the Lifestyle Medicine Program.

Lilibeth Ramos went to the emergency department at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi one day for pain in her leg. She had tests taken, went home with pain medication, and returned to Primary Care for a follow-up appointment.

“That’s when I learned I had type 2 diabetes,” said Ramos. At 39 years old, Ramos had not seen a doctor since high school.

She was referred to the hospital’s Lifestyle Medicine Program, where she would meet with a medical provider, a registered dietitian, and a health coach to make a personalized care plan. She then began weekly group classes, which she could attend remotely in the evenings after work, where she learned about looking at nutrition labels, creating a nutritious, balanced plate, the benefits of exercise, and other topics.

Ramos started to think twice about her daily Coca Colas, swapping in water and club soda instead. Where she used to have peanut M&Ms for a snack, she began reaching for apples, berries, and kiwis.

Perhaps the biggest changes, however, came from learning how to manage her stress.

“Before the program, I slept 2 or 3 hours a night,” said Ramos. “I was up late because I used to worry too much. I feel like I can control my stress now. I learned how to breathe in, breathe out. Now, I go to sleep earlier, and I feel more energy. I get eight hours of sleep. It helps me a lot with my stress management. I also started doing yoga again, which I hadn’t done since college.”

After 7 months in the Lifestyle Medicine Program, Ramos’ A1C went from 10.6% to 5.8% with a combination of lifestyle changes and one diabetes pill. Today, her A1C is 5.4% – in the normal range – without additional medication.

“If it wasn’t for the group, I wouldn’t know what to do,” said Ramos. “This program helped me a lot.” 

Sandra Peters had been living with type 2 diabetes for over a decade when one day she began feeling very ill, unable to eat, and she kept vomiting. A trip to the emergency department at Jacobi Hospital revealed she had sepsis and kidney failure, and she went on dialysis temporarily.

“Jacobi Hospital saved my life,” said Peters.

The scare motivated her to try the hospital’s new Lifestyle Medicine Program, but after years of diets and medication for her diabetes, she was skeptical the program had anything to teach her.

“I thought, ‘What are they going to tell me that I haven’t already heard?’” said Peters. “Then I met Rosemary at Jacobi Hospital, and I was blown away. This was completely different from what I had tried previously. Everything is customized to your needs.”

Peters learned new ways to season her food, relying on garlic and cilantro for flavor instead of mayonnaise. She focused on foods that made her feel full, and she realized that fast food had lost its appeal. Despite chronic pain in her knee and back, she began walking more and can now walk up to an hour in a day.

In 7 months of the Lifestyle Medicine Program, Peters’ A1C improved from 8.0% to 7.0%, and today is down to 5.8% without additional medications.

“Everyone knows what you’re supposed to do to be healthy, but this program actually shows you how to do it,” said Peters. “They help you take a real step forward, and they’re holding your hand. This program has changed my life. It’s been a wonderful journey.”

Ramos and Peters are two of the over 1,400 patients who have participated in NYC Health + Hospitals’ Lifestyle Medicine Program in the last year. The interdisciplinary program is a several-month program to support patients in making evidence-based lifestyle changes, including a healthful plant-based diet, increased physical activity, improved sleep habits, stress management, avoidance of substance use, and stronger social connections. Adults living with prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or health concerns related to excess weight are eligible to enroll. The program is available at seven sites and can serve thousands of patients each year. The care team includes physicians, nurse practitioners, a certified nurse midwife (Woodhull location), registered dietitians, health coaches, program coordinators, community health workers, and a fitness instructor, and some of the sites also offer a psychologist. Current patients of NYC Health + Hospitals can get a referral to the program from their provider, and people who are not yet patients of NYC Health + Hospitals can see if they qualify to enroll in the program by contacting 347-507-3695.

“When it comes to food and health, the Lifestyle Medicine Program’s personalized care plans make lifestyle changes not just possible, but very palatable,” said Mayor’s Office of Food Policy Executive Director Kate MacKenzie. “Thanks to the work of the incredible care teams, in the last year over 1,400 patients have benefitted from resources such as nutrition education programming, seasonal produce deliveries, access to Health Bucks, and plant-based cooking support. These evidence-based programs are part of our pathway to a healthier New York, giving patients the power to eat more nutritious and delicious food.”

“Lifestyle change is foundational to preventing and treating type 2 diabetes, and in some cases can even help put diabetes into remission,” said Dr. Michelle McMacken, Executive Director of Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals. “Yet we know that making changes isn’t always easy – people need support, guidance, and practical tools. That’s exactly what our Lifestyle Medicine Programs provide: personalized support to help people adopt sustainable habits that improve blood sugar control, reduce complications, and ultimately transform their quality of life.”

The lifestyle medicine program provides every patient with the following resources:

• Six to nine one-on-one counseling sessions: Patients have two to three visits each with a physician, nurse practitioner or certified nurse midwife, a registered dietitian, and a health coach to develop and implement a personalized care plan. 

• Weekly group classes: Topics include creating a nutritious plant-powered plate, reading nutrition labels, stress management, sleep health, and fitness fundamentals. Patients also have individual time to check in with a nurse practitioner.

• Weekly exercise classes: Patients can join exercise classes led by a fitness instructor and receive resistance bands to use for strength training in the classes.

• Free deliveries of seasonal fresh produce: Patients work with dietitians to learn about incorporating fruits and vegetables into their diet across culinary traditions and skill levels. Delicious and nutritious recipes adapted by the team’s dietitians accompany each produce box.

• Health Bucks. Patients have access to Health Bucks, which are $2 coupons that can be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at NYC farmers markets. Four of the seven program sites have farmers’ markets on their campus.

• Culinary skills videos. Patients will learn cooking skills through short videos developed by the Lifestyle Medicine team in partnership with an online culinary school, Rouxbe. The videos will feature healthy cooking across various culinary traditions, including Caribbean, South American, Central American, and South Asian, and will be translated into Spanish, Mandarin, Bengali, and Haitian Creole.

• A plant-based cookbook: Each patient receives a cookbook on plant-based eating for overall health or specifically for type 2 diabetes. 

• Support accessing benefits: Community health workers help patients access free or low-cost nutrition resources and, for those eligible, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. They also help address other needs such as transportation and housing concerns.

The Lifestyle Medicine Program is available at the following sites:

Bronx

Brooklyn

Manhattan

Queens

Staten Island

Particular attention has been placed on ensuring that the program’s group visit curriculum is relevant for patients from diverse backgrounds and experiences. For example, the Spanish-language curriculum reflects cultural adaptations, not simply a translation of the English-language version. Moreover, individual visits with the medical providers, dietitian, and health coach allow for tailored behavior change recommendations based on each patient’s social, financial, cultural, and family context.

Formal evaluations of the Bellevue Hospital pilot program revealed a successful implementation process, extremely high demand for services (more than 850 patients requested to enroll in the first few months), and positive health outcomes including clinically and statistically significant improvements in weight, glycemic control, and diastolic blood pressure.

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MEDIA CONTACT: PressOffice@nychhc.org

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About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlusHealth—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 46,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.