Comptroller Gives Morningside Health Grade

Creating walk-in doctor’s offices in more easily accessible locations such as department stores and supermarkets may be a solution to the increasing health gap between New York’s rich and poor, according to a report on health discrepancies released Thursday morning by New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. Based on data from 1990 to 2005, the report identified correlations between health conditions and income levels in the city’s neighborhoods.

The report indicated that rates of cancer increased in Central Harlem-Morningside Heights and other neighborhoods in the lowest income bracket. In the same period, cancer rates declined in neighborhoods of all higher income brackets.

Also, according to the report, between 1990 and 2005, the number of diabetes hospitalizations in New York City increased by 82.9 percent and diabetes hospitalization rates more than doubled in six neighborhoods. Diabetes rates were 5.5 times higher in neighborhoods of the bottom income levels compared to neighborhoods at the top.

While many studies have pointed to poor diet habits and food availability in low-income neighborhoods, Thompson, who indicated his intentions to run for mayor, claimed study emphasized limited access to medical care as the root cause for high diabetes rates.

“Some of it [high rates of diabetes] may be diet, but a lot of it is catching it earlier,” Thompson said at a press conference Thursday morning. “Early access to medical advice is key.”

This study grouped neighborhoods by income level, placing Central Harlem and Morningside Heights together, in the sixth of six income levels with a medium household income of $21,755. The Upper West Side was placed in the firsst income level, based on a mean household income of $65,038.

The largest increase in childhood asthma hospitalization rates and heart diseases were also found in low-income neighborhoods. East Harlem and Washington Heights had two of the highest uninsured percentages of residents, with 37 percent and 33 percent, respectively.

Based on these findings, Thompson advocated government reimbursement for primary and preventive care, more funding for research about the underlying causes of asthma, expansion of public education campaigns, in addition to encouraging the creation of drug and retail store health clinics in or accessible to low and moderate income neighborhoods.

“The clinics are by no means alternative to care by personal physicians,” Thompson said. “However, they can provide a supplement to those services and help remove some obstacles to care.”

At the same time, Thompson stressed that a long-term relationship between a personal provider and a patient is necessary for successful preventative care and long-term health.

Ashley Pandolfi can be reached at ashley.pandolfi@columbiaspectator.com.