Boston and New YorkBoston and NY

The Case for Social Prescribing

What if the best medicine isn't found in a pharmacy — but in a community garden, a choir, or a local art studio?
Join Swissnex, the IBSA Foundation for scientific research, and the City of Lugano for a conversation on social prescribing.

Social prescribing is a growing practice reshaping how we think about health and well-being. Rather than relying solely on clinical interventions, health professionals are increasingly referring patients to non-medical, community-based support — from arts programs and volunteering opportunities to nature walks and social clubs. The approach recognizes what many of us already know intuitively: that social and cultural activities play a key role in physical and mental well-being, and that isolation and lack of community can have serious negative consequences for our health.

This discussion will explore pioneering social prescribing efforts taking shape in Switzerland and the US, and seek out common ground for community-centered care across healthcare systems. We will hear from experts working at the intersection of arts and health — practitioners, researchers, and advocates who are defining best practices in this emerging field and the programs that bring this vision to life.

Following the panel discussion, share your own experiences, reflections, and ideas on social prescribing in our “Speakers’ Corner,” and join us for a networking apéritif.

Join us for an evening of interdisciplinary dialogue between culture, art, and public health.

Speakers

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    Bio

    Javier Silva

    Senior Associate Director of Community Engagement,
    Federal Reserve Bank of New York

    Javier Silva is senior associate director of community engagement with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In this role, he works with financial institutions, government agencies, universities, and for-profit and non-profit organizations on emerging issues in the community development field. Currently he is focused on community risk from climate hazards, financing food ecosystems, leveraging community assets to improve health outcomes, the social drivers of health, and healthy longevity through stakeholder engagement, convenings, research, and thought leadership. He is also responsible for outreach and implementing community economic development programming in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

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    Bio

    Larissa Trinder

    Assistant Vice President,
    New York City Health + Hospitals

    Larissa Trinder serves as Assistant Vice President for Arts in Medicine at New York City Health + Hospitals, where she leads one of the most ambitious arts-in-healthcare initiatives in the country. She oversees the stewardship, exhibition strategy, conservation, maintenance, acquisition, and curation of the health system’s collection of more than 7,500 works of art—the largest non-museum collection in New York City—with many pieces dating back to the 1930s. Installed throughout the system’s facilities, the collection advances evidence-based design principles that support patient experience, enhance trust, and improve workplace environments for staff.

     

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    Bio

    Aly Maier Lokuta

    Assistant Vice President,
    New Jersey Performing Arts Center

    Aly Maier Lokuta, MA (she/her) is the Assistant Vice President of Arts & Well-Being at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), where she leads innovative programming, research, evaluation, and education at the intersection of arts and health, serving communities in Newark and across New Jersey. A multidisciplinary artist, Aly stays well through creating visual art, writing, and playing guitar.

Moderator

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    Bio

    Julia Hotz

    Journalist and author

    Julia Hotz is a solutions-focused journalist and award-winning author of THE CONNECTION CURE (Simon & Schuster)—the first book chronicling the science & stories of social prescribing. She currently works at the Solutions Journalism Network and advises Social Prescribing USA and Walk with a Doc. For her insights on the health and healthcare,  she has delivered keynote speeches and TEDx talks, taught medical professionals, and has been interviewed on over 100 podcasts and talk shows.  Her reporting and writing has been featured in The Boston Globe, BBC, The Guardian,  The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, NBC, WIRED, TIME, PBS, Slate, The New York Times, Fast Company, and more.

Partners

This event is presented by Swissnex, the IBSA Foundation for scientific research, and the Culture Division of the City of Lugano.