New York Health Foundation

Enter your search

Search
Generic filters
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Search in excerpt

Top searches

Year: 2017

Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy

Although oral health in the United States has improved overall, tooth decay remains the most common chronic childhood disease—five times more prevalent than asthma.

Low-income and minority families in particular bear a high burden of dental problems, but are less likely than middle- or high-income families to have access to preventive dental services. In 2013, NYHealth supported the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy in efforts to educate policymakers and communities in New York State about dental disease and make recommendations for policies to improve population oral health across socioeconomic status, race, and age. In 2017, NYHealth awarded the Schuyler Center a grant to further this statewide oral health campaign.

Under this grant, the Schuyler Center built the readiness and capacity of communities to implement new public health solutions to improve oral health and sustain existing community-based efforts. It provided training and technical support to New York State communities, including the development of a campaign kit that will guide communities in their oral health promotion efforts going forward. Last, the Schuyler Center promoted the New York oral health campaign nationally at conferences, disseminating the strategies, successes, and challenges of the project.

Community Solutions International

Good health outcomes are more prevalent in neighborhoods where people have easy access to nutritious, affordable food; safe and walkable streets; and active playgrounds and public spaces.

Living in neighborhoods without these essentials, residents are more likely to be burdened with high rates of obesity, diabetes, or other chronic illnesses. In 2015, NYHealth launched its Healthy Neighborhoods Fund, an initiative to help six communities across New York State become healthier and more active places. NYHealth invested $2 million in the initiative during its first two years, and has since leveraged an additional $181 million in funding for these six communities—helping nearly half a million New Yorkers have greater access to healthy, affordable food and safe ways in which to be physically active. NYHealth is continuing its commitment to the Healthy Neighborhoods Fund by investing an additional $2.5 million over the next three years in these six communities. In 2017, NYHealth awarded Community Solutions a grant to continue its participation in the initiative.

Under the second phase of the initiative, Community Solutions built upon efforts to enhance and activate spaces for physical activity, with the overall goal of decreasing crime and increasing feelings of safety in public places. Community Solutions worked to ensure that the physical environment in Brownsville is safer, better maintained, inviting, vibrant, and able to evolve to meet neighborhood needs. Community Solutions engaged 1,500 residents in civic activities annually, including 500 youth. It conducted three vacant space activations a year. It built the capacity of the Friends of Brownsville Parks (FOBP) and helped develop sports and fitness programs by connecting FOBP with funding, increasing resident engagement, and formalizing committee and working groups for FOBP. Community Solutions worked to increase access to healthy and affordable foods by supporting neighborhood partners and providing technical assistance and capacity building. Specifically, it supported Project EATS in its plan to create a farm stand/cafe on the Marcus Garvey Village farm site, as well as provided technical assistance for the installation and modification of a shipping container into a healthy cafe for residents.

Active Citizen Project, Inc.

Although Brownsville, a Healthy Neighborhoods Fund site, faces daunting health statistics and negative portrayals, there are many committed residents who work tirelessly to improve their neighborhood’s health and wellbeing.

Active Citizen Project (ACP) creates opportunities for people to live healthy lives and thrive in their communities, one of which is its flagship program, Project EATS. The program collaborates with residents, schools, community-based organizations, and businesses to transform underused spaces (low-utility public and private land) in working-class and low-income neighborhoods into sustainable, productive urban farms. It also oversees the GrowNYC Youthmarket (a network of urban farm stands operated by neighborhood youth and supplied by local farmers) and provides nutrition education and skills-training programs to residents of the neighborhoods in which it operates. To support Project EATS’ sustainability in Brownsville, NYHealth awarded ACP a grant in January 2017. In December 2017, NYHealth awarded ACP a second grant to continue its work to increase resident access to and affordability and consumption of healthy foods.

Under this grant, ACP built upon its efforts to support the health and wellness of Brownsville residents. ACP increased access to healthy food by expanding locations for Project EATS farms and mobile farm stands, as well as opening a café that operated several days a week. It also made food more affordable by offering a wider range of payment and pricing incentives and expanded choices by offering prepared food options. ACP strengthened the long-term sustainability of Project EATS farms by (1) establishing standard farm practices that maximized farmers’ ability to sustainably grow high yields of nutritious, quality crops and (2) training and employing residents for careers as farmers and managers on Project EATS farms.

Fund for Public Health in New York, Inc.

Good health outcomes are more prevalent in neighborhoods where people have easy access to nutritious, affordable food; safe and walkable streets; and active playgrounds and public spaces.

Living in neighborhoods without these essentials, residents are more likely to be burdened with high rates of obesity, diabetes, or other chronic illnesses. In 2015, NYHealth launched its Healthy Neighborhoods Fund, an initiative to help six communities across New York State become healthier and more active places. NYHealth invested $2 million during its first two years, and has leveraged an additional $181 million in funding for these six communities, helping nearly half a million New Yorkers have greater access to healthy, affordable food and safe ways in which to be physically active. NYHealth is continuing its commitment to the Healthy Neighborhoods Fund by investing an additional $2.5 million over the next three years in these six communities. In 2017, NYHealth awarded Fund for Public Health in New York (FPHNY) a grant to continue its participation in the initiative.

Under the second phase of the initiative, FPHNY built upon its efforts to support the health and wellness of East Harlem residents by improving access to public spaces for exercise and recreation. FPHNY’s priority is community engagement, including amplifying community voices, identifying community-raised concerns, and working toward local solutions with residents and partners to the greatest extent possible. Core activities to improve the built environment for physical activity in East Harlem included sustaining the East Harlem Community Walking Trail, launching a communications campaign for physical activity, and supporting the El Barrio Bikes community cycling initiative. It worked toward the goal of decreasing the prevalence of adults who report no exercise and improving neighborhood social cohesion.

RAND Corporation

Despite the failures of Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act, it is unclear whether new repeal and/or replace bills will be put forth in the future.

During a time of uncertainty, states are ramping up alternative reform proposals, including single-payer systems. Single-payer bills have been considered in California, Nevada, and New York State. In New York State, the New York Health Act (NYH) has gained traction in Albany. The intent of the NYH is to provide no-cost coverage to every New Yorker with no out-of-pocket costs and no network restrictions. In 2017, NYHealth awarded the RAND Corporation a grant to conduct an objective, independent, and rigorous economic analysis of the NYH.

Under this grant, RAND estimated the economic impact for various stakeholders from implementing the NYH, relative to the current system. The analysis addressed a range of issues, including how a single-payer system would affect the utilization of health care services; whether administrative and drug and device costs would change; how much taxes would need to increase; any net savings or costs for employers and New Yorkers of different income levels; and the net costs to federal, State, and local governments. A final report summarizing the results and methodology was published and briefing events were convened in Albany and New York City for policymakers and other stakeholders.

Read the analysis.

Clean and Healthy New York, Inc.

On a daily basis, Americans are exposed to many of the 80,000 chemicals currently used in the United States—few of which are adequately tested for their effects on health.

Many potentially harmful chemicals can be found in commercial products such as cosmetics, personal-care products, cleaning products, and children’s products. Some are known toxins that have an established correlation with diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, as well as health disorders like endocrine system disruptions, infertility, obesity, and learning and developmental disabilities. The use of toxic chemicals in household products is largely unaccounted for or unmonitored. Although there have been cases in which a ban was put in place, many of these efforts were long overdue and piecemeal. Federal laws meant to restrict toxic chemicals are inadequate. There have been recent rollbacks of existing regulatory policies, coupled with concerns over the new leadership at the Environmental Protection Agency. In 2017, NYHealth awarded Clean and Healthy New York (CHNY) a grant to conduct a public education campaign about the importance of expanding toxic chemical disclosure requirements, and to create a plan with options for more comprehensive actions to protect New Yorkers from the harmful chemicals in consumer goods.

Under this grant, CHNY designed a public education initiative to raise awareness of and support for toxic chemical disclosure requirements for consumer products. Using Governor Cuomo’s Household Cleaning Product Information Disclosure Program as a starting point, CHNY assessed the New York State policy landscape, including other related current laws, executive orders, and regulations used to identify and restrict toxic chemicals. CHNY partnered with corporations, New York State-based businesses, and nonprofit organizations with policies addressing toxic chemicals to serve as active participants in the public education initiative. Along with this coalition of partners, CHNY conducted public education briefing meetings with allies at the State and select policymakers who were not yet supportive of proposals to expand toxic chemical disclosures for consumer products. In the second phase of this initiative, CHNY developed a blueprint with options on how New York State can build upon its current efforts to expand standards for more comprehensive disclosure requirements of harmful chemicals in consumer goods and advance stronger regulatory policies for toxic chemical use in New York State.

Get a printable fact sheet on potentially toxic chemicals that are commonly found in everyday products.

caret-down