Evelyn Farkas Visits NWH's Center for Healthy Living

Evelyn Farkas, Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Obama, recently visited Northern Westchester Hospital’s Center for Healthy Living. The newly-opened community resource for health and wellness at Chappaqua Crossing offers free health services such as blood pressure, vascular, cholesterol and osteoporosis screenings, as well as classes on nutrition and how to better navigate the healthcare system.

Farkas identified the model of the new center — proactive, preventative and holistic care — as key to improving our national health system and called for federal funding to support similar community health policy innovations in Rockland and elsewhere.

“It is common knowledge that our healthcare system is fundamentally broken,” Farkas said. “Americans pay more for worse health outcomes than our peers around the world. Programs like Northern Westchester Hospital’s Center for Healthy Living are critical to moving our nation’s healthcare from a sickness management system to a health maintenance system.

“Evidence shows that it is less expensive, and not to mention more humane, to keep people healthy rather than to treat people once they are sick, as our current system does. Yet federal and state grants designed to support preventative care are ridiculously limited. In Congress, I will push for federal funding to support local health enterprises interested in replicating this model.”

Farkas’ mother served as a per diem employee of Northern Westchester Hospital for over 20 years, on top of her full-time employment with the Westchester County Medical Center and full- and part-time with St. Joseph’s Hospital in Yonkers.

Farkas, the only candidate in the race with federal legislative experience, is the child of Hungarian refugees and was raised and attended public schools in Westchester. For nearly three decades, she represented the United States in various capacities, defending democracy and advancing human rights. Farkas has been a leading policy and legislative expert in the Defense Department, on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and as Executive Director of the WMD Commission. She has advised former defense secretaries and senators, including Hillary Clinton. As Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Obama, Evelyn was responsible for U.S. policy toward Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. After the 2016 election, she stood up to conservative media to publicly denounce President Trump’s corrupt ties to Russia. For the last several years, Evelyn has been a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and German Marshall Fund and a National Security Contributor for NBC/MSNBC. Farkas earned a bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall College, where she is a Trustee, and a master’s and Ph.D. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

New York's 17th Congressional District is currently represented by retiring Rep. Nita Lowey. Located in the Lower Hudson Valley, it includes all of Rockland County and portions of central and northwestern Westchester County, including Chappaqua, Mt. Kisco, Ossining, Peekskill, Pleasantville, Tarrytown, White Plains, Cortlandt, and Yorktown Heights.

District residents interested in Farkas’ election campaign can visit evelynforny.com, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to learn more, volunteer or contribute.