The New York Academy of Medicine (the Academy) is a health policy and advocacy organization founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health reform. The early leaders of the academy were invested in the reform movements of the day and worked to improve public health by focusing on the living conditions of the poor. In 1866, the academy was instrumental in the establishment of the Metropolitan Board of Health, the first modern municipal public health authority in the United States and the precursor of today's Department of Health. In recent years the academy has functioned as an effective advocate in public health reform, as well as a major center for health education. As of 2016, the acad