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Quality health care – and the lack of access to it – has become a serious issue in suburban communities, a reflection of an often-fragmented jurisdictional landscape, inadequate transportation, and an increasing number of poor immigrant and other minority populations in segregated neighborhoods often with substandard housing. NCSS has conducted studies and organized conferences on clinics in poor communities, "aging in place" options for the elderly, new paradigms for housing the developmentally disabled, childhood obesity in one of Long Island's poorest minority areas, and the intersection of housing and health outcomes. NCSS' commitment to health care issues – reflected in a University-wide focus that includes a medical school, programs in nursing and public health, and more robust offerings in other life science disciplines – has led us to create the Suburban Health Equity Institute. A collaboration with Hofstra's Master of Public Health program, the Suburban Health Equity Institute is funded by grants from the Dolan Family Foundation and Dr. Howard Kerpen through the Foundation for Innovations in Medical Education.
Healthy Homes Pilot One Year Later: Progress and Possibilities Report – This project provides the foundation for a fundamental shift in the way Long Islanders think about health and housing. Following up on the initiative that resulted from last year's CDCLI convening, "Home Matters for Health on Long Island," the Healthy Homes Pilot was launched. It targeted how to best meet the health and housing needs of the low-income population in the Village of Hempstead with a focus on the residents of the Hempstead Housing Authority. This report reflects the results and recommendations of the Healthy Homes Pilot, which was undertaken over a one-year period.