NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – "Hallelujah!" That was the reaction sex therapy icon Dr. Ruth had Wednesday when Gov. Kathy Hochul told her she was New York's “Ambassador to Loneliness.”
The appointment, announced Thursday by the governor, will make Ruth Westheimer the nation's first loneliness ambassador at 95 years old. In the role, she'll work to help New Yorkers of all ages tackle the growing issue of social isolation.
Hochul said the famed sex sage is “just what the doctor ordered.” “We need leaders like Dr. Ruth to help address this critical component of our mental health crisis,” the governor said in a statement.
Westheimer, who lives in the Bronx, pitched the idea last year—she’d like to play a role in helping New York deal with an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, a public health issue only underscored by the pandemic.
Westheimer—a Holocaust survivor best known for the frank sex advice she gave on her cable TV shows in the 1980s and '90s—said she's raring to go.
“I got off the phone with Governor Hochul yesterday afternoon,” Westheimer said in a statement. “She called to ask me to serve as the very first Honorary Ambassador to Loneliness in the nation. I am deeply honored and promised the Governor that I will work day and night to help New Yorkers feel less lonely!”
While the exact duties of the role weren't immediately disclosed, Westheimer is expected to speak with groups and lend her candid insight to health officials working on the issue.
Earlier this year, the U.S. surgeon general declared loneliness a public health epidemic.
Social isolation has been linked to a long list of physical and mental health issues, including cognitive decline, anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disorders, weakened immunity, Alzheimer’s disease, and premature death.