HB gets failing grade in health

By Denáe Brewer
Editor in Chief

Compiling community health profile report cards on every neighborhood in the city, the Department Of Health and Mental Hygiene found the Highbridge and Morrisania sections of the Bronx receive failing grades.

With a combined population of almost 190 thousand, the residents of Highbridge and Morrisania are faced with daunting medical obstacles.

These areas have the highest incidents of AIDS cases; children with asthma, people with diabetes and on average the most smokers.

Researchers have found how a person rates their own health greatly reflexes on the health and well being of a community.

In Highbridge and Morrisanis, 36 percent of the population surveyed, considers themselves in poor health—The highest rate in the city and a percentage only equaled by those living in the Hunts Point and Mott Haven sections of the Bronx.

The findings in the report cards are aimed to help officials pinpoint the leading factors in poor health. On average those in economically distressed neighborhoods—like Highbridge and Morrisania where 42 percent of the population lives below the poverty level according to the 2000 census—suffer the most health problems.

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recognizes this disparity. Thomas Frieden, commissioner of the department said. “One of the primary goals of the department is to reduce and eliminate these disparities by improving health in communities with the greatest need.”