The Issues Facing New Yorkers.

Access to food, housing, a living wage, education, social support system — these myriad social concerns shape the lives and define the scope of challenges faced by the underserved. 

Social Determinants of Health

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How Three New York City Organizations Are Shifting the Narrative for Young Black Men

In New York and across the country, Black men are dealing with an alarming range of health disparities, including increased risk of chronic disease and depression compared to other racial groups. And from a young age, racial disparities and discrimination can also leave a lasting impact on mental and emotional well-being.

Addressing the Intersection of Health and Hunger in New York

Across New York State, 1 in 10 households are suffering from food insecurity, and in New York City, food pantries have served 53% more meals in the first nine months of 2023 compared to this time last year. Increasing food costs, delayed SNAP benefits and the ongoing migrant crisis are all contributing to a rise in hunger. 

Growing Financial Power in the Hispanic Community

Over the last decade, the U.S. Latino population has become a fundamental axis of the economy. Latino consumption and purchasing power has grown twice as fast as that of non-Latinos, and today, if Latinos in the United States were their own country, their GDP would rank fifth in the world. Yet, while the community’s economic output has been substantive, there are still barriers to creating generational wealth and accessing financial services.

Building Healthier Futures Starting from Pregnancy

In the United States, maternal mortality rates exceed the rates of other high-income countries and are continuing to rise. The issue is particularly prevalent in New York, which has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country. During Women’s History Month, the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation is proud to highlight the work of grantees working every day to break down barriers and improve maternal health outcomes for women and children in New York.

Fostering Health Equity in the Black Community

While significant progress has been made to close the health equity gap, Black communities in New York continue to experience barriers to receiving care, face discrimination while seeking care and are subject to increased inequities outside the healthcare system.

Four New Reports Recommend Continued Collaboration to Improve Patient Care And Outcomes

New York’s healthcare associations highlight collaborative work on hospital-home care innovation, mental health, public vaccination, and aging in place.

Bridging the Digital Divide by Using Technology to Further Health Equity

The COVID-19 pandemic limited access to healthcare resources for many New Yorkers. To meet the moment for New Yorkers in need of care, many providers and nonprofits adapted by increasing use of telehealth and other digital resources to improve patient access and health outcomes and ease reliance on emergency and late-stage interventions.

Pediatric Oral Healthcare

While it is too often overlooked, pediatric oral healthcare is vital to the health outcomes and academic success of New York’s youth. Tooth decay and other dental issues can lead to long-term complications. That is why the Foundation has committed three years’ worth of strategic grants to improve oral healthcare access for underserved New Yorkers.

Improving Access to Healthcare Workforce Education

Well-staffed and trained employees in hospitals, homecare facilities, community organizations and social service agencies are critical to providing for the health needs of New Yorkers. Yet, as a result of healthcare workforce recruitment and retention challenges, New York alone is estimated to have 1.1 million job openings for direct care by 2029, and a shortage of nearly 39,000 registered nurses by 2030.

All Sector Workforce Summit Summary

The nation’s aging population coupled with a rise in chronic diseases and behavioral health conditions has unequivocally increased the demand for a talented, qualified and engaged health workforce. At the same time, the looming pandemic has consistently overburdened facilities and staff, further complicating workforce retention and recruitment strategies.

National Nurses Week

As frontline workers during COVID-19, nurses across New York State put their own lives at risk to care for New Yorkers. Now we are seeing the health risks, stress, and burnout caused by the pandemic resulting in 1 in 5 health-care workers across the country leaving their jobs.

Clinical Care in New York

Barriers to clinical care, including lack of access to health insurance, increasingly high medical costs, prevailing language barriers and more, prevent many New Yorkers from receiving the treatment required to live a healthy life.

Healthy Food for a Healthier New York

Over 2 million New Yorkers struggle with food insecurity, increasing likelihood of not only physical health issues, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity, but also mental health issues. In recognition of National Nutrition Month this March, the Foundation is highlighting six vital organizations increasing food access across New York State.

What is Health Literacy?

Communities across New York State often lack access to the basic social infrastructure that is essential for positive health outcomes—including housing, transportation, a living wage, social support systems, clinical care, food, and education. To improve health outcomes for vulnerable New Yorkers, one of the many disparities we must address is in health literacy.

Food Insecurity in New York City

The elevated level of food insecurity in New York City is striking. Since the start of the pandemic, the number of New York City residents struggling with food insecurity increased 36% overall and a sobering 46% among children, according to an analysis by Feeding America.

Charting a New Course for the Future of In-Home Care

In the last two years, COVID-19’s devastating impact on nursing home residents led to a shift in how nursing homes, healthcare organizations, and municipalities approach long-term care for older New Yorkers. Even prior to the pandemic, nearly 90% of homeowners approaching retirement wanted to stay in their homes as they aged. 

 

Education Justice in Rochester

Across New York State, nearly 30,000 currently incarcerated individuals lack the critical opportunity to pursue higher education, necessary for economic and professional growth. This shortfall contributes to a cycle of mass incarceration as recidivism rates in New York reach 40%, further limiting individual and regional economic growth and overall well-being.

 

COVID-19’s Impact on Central Brooklyn’s Food Systems

Our grantee, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (Restoration), recently released a study highlighting the pandemic’s impact on Central Brooklyn’s local food systems.

Lead Poisoning in Syracuse

Despite the progress public health officials have made in protecting children from lead poisoning and the irreversible neurological damage it can cause, Central New York currently faces an emerging public health crisis. 

Telehealth

From closing hospitals to staff shortages to longer travel distances for emergency care, New Yorkers living in rural regions face significant challenges accessing healthcare. Those living in these “healthcare deserts” have the greatest need for increased telehealth services — especially now.

Mapping Key Determinants of Immigrants’ Health

A Center for Migration Studies report, funded by our Foundation, maps the determinants of immigrant health in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. In doing so, it seeks to enable healthcare providers, government agencies, and non-profit immigrant-serving entities – including faith-based entities – to identify gaps in their services to immigrant populations, and to help meet the need – healthcare and other – of diverse immigrant communities at heightened risk of adverse health outcomes.

Oral Healthcare

Good oral health is the gateway to good overall health. Growing research shows that poor oral health, especially gum disease, leads to chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. These diseases can in turn reduce the body’s resistance to infection. Yet lack of access to dental care persists within disadvantaged and underserved populations across New York.

Prioritizing the Needs of Vulnerable New Yorkers During the Pandemic

Across the state, the pandemic has revealed how inequitably our communities are prepared to cope with an emergency of this magnitude. The Department of Health in New York City released data reflecting an alarming nationwide trend: vulnerable groups such as low-income individuals, senior citizens, and people of color are suffering from COVID-19 at disproportionate rates.

Embedding Social Workers to Work Alongside the Police

In July, the Buffalo News reported on an innovative new program enabled by a grant from our Foundation to Endeavor Health Services. The Buffalo Police Department began embedding a handful of licensed clinical social workers to work alongside police officers and respond to mental health and substance abuse calls. Click on “Read More” to see a December update from Endeavor.