LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring New York Downtown Hospital upon the
occasion of its Chinese New Year Celebration on February 4, 2009

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Assembled Body to recognize and applaud
healthcare facilities serving the citizens of the City and State of New
York, commending their purposeful endeavors and acknowledging their
commitment to quality and compassionate care; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern and fully in accord with its long-
standing traditions, it is the intent of this Assembled Body to commend
New York Downtown Hospital upon the occasion of its Chinese New Year
Celebration on February 4, 2009; and
WHEREAS, Since 1853, New York Downtown Hospital has played a pivotal
role in the healthcare of Lower Manhattan's diverse communities; it is
the only healthcare facility serving the Downtown New York community,
including Chinatown, Wall Street, Battery Park City, SoHo, TriBeCa,
Little Italy and the Lower East Side, and the first responder in nearly
every emergency situation in the area; and
WHEREAS, As the primary provider of healthcare services to Chinatown,
New York Downtown Hospital is proud to celebrate the Chinese New Year,
the most important and most popular of festivals observed by Asian Amer-
icans, with the entire community; and
WHEREAS, This year, the Chinese New Year holiday begins on January 26,
2009, welcoming the Year of the Ox, 4707, and lasts 15 days; celebrating
this holiday with its friends in the Chinese community has become a
special, and much beloved, tradition at New York Downtown Hospital; and
WHEREAS, To honor the New Year and the community it serves, New York
Downtown Hospital offers its patients a special gourmet meal featuring
authentic Chinese dishes with auspicious names for their Chinese New
Year's Eve dinner and another special meal for patients and staff on
Chinese New Year's Day; and
WHEREAS, New York Downtown Hospital will also celebrate the arrival of
the first baby of the Chinese New Year, and on Wednesday, February 4,
2009, the 10th day of the Chinese New Year, it will joyfully and proudly
host its festive annual Lunar New Year celebration at the Hospital; and
WHEREAS, This year's program features a lion dance performance by Wan
Chi Ming Hung Gar Institute, singing and dancing by children from the
Brooklyn-Chinese American Association Head Start Program, a performance
of Chinese acrobatics and a demonstration of Chinese calligraphy, as
well as the traditional roast pig cutting ceremony and blessings of the
"God of Fortune"; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 50 percent of New York Downtown Hospital's patients
are Asian, many of whom are recent immigrants facing significant
cultural and linguistic barriers to health care; Downtown Hospital has a
special commitment to this community and its distinct healthcare issues;
and
WHEREAS, In fulfilling its mission to serve the underprivileged and
disenfranchised, and ever responsive to the needs of the community it
serves, New York Downtown Hospital has long been a leader in providing
culturally-appropriate care to the area's burgeoning immigrant popu-
lations, setting a standard for others to follow; and
WHEREAS, This care is warmly tailored to the community, running the
gamut from medical programs targeting the specific needs of Chinese
patients to more subtle forms of respect and comfort taking into account
the cultural sensitivities of the community, including the providing of
hot Chinese tea in the maternity unit and the purposeful absence of
patient rooms marked #4, the number four being the phonetic equivalent

of the Chinese word for "death," in the Hospital's Lehman Brothers Emer-
gency Center; and
WHEREAS, New York Downtown Hospital's many other special services and
amenities for the Chinese community include the Chinese Community Part-
nership for Health, Chinese Health Hotline, health lectures on Chinese
radio, special osteoporosis screenings for Asian women, courtesy van
service for Chinatown patients, round the clock translation services in
various Chinese dialects and medical translation courses for employees,
tri-lingual signage throughout the Hospital, Chinese-language television
programming in patient rooms, Chinese-language newspapers in patient
units, and a complete Chinese menu for inpatients; and
WHEREAS, Clearly contributing to the welfare and quality of life of
the citizens of the community it serves, and recognizing the strength of
its commitment and leadership, it is the sense of this Assembled Body
that New York Downtown Hospital truly merits the recognition and appre-
ciation of the people of the City and State of New York and of this
Assembled Body; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor New York Downtown Hospital upon the occasion of its Chinese New
Year Celebration on February 4, 2009; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to New York Downtown Hospital.